Celtics’ Jrue Holiday Questions Tiebreakers For In-Season Tournament

The Boston Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls in a 124-97 win on Tuesday night at TD Garden during the NBA In-Season Tournament.

The Celtics won in overly convincing fashion, keeping starters in the game as the team entered the fourth quarter leading by nearly 30 points.

How did Boston come to that decision? The Celtics needed to win by at least 23 points and have the Brooklyn Nets beat the Toronto Raptors by a smaller margin in order to win Group C and advance.

The implications of the tournament created an uncomfortable scenario as the Celtics had to keep scoring, rather than put the reserves in to cruise to victory. Boston’s players recognized that feeling while understanding the need to take care of business.

“I want to win just as much as anybody else,” Celtics guard Jrue Holiday told reporters after the game, per NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “I want to make it to the tournament and possibly be the first to win the In-Season Tournament. Again, I don’t necessarily care for it, but I understand it.”

The first go-around of the In-Season Tournament could provide a chance for players, coaches and league representatives to weigh the pros and cons of the initial format. Holiday noted that he would be open to a different tiebreaker that allowed teams to maintain better sportsmanship to eliminate running up the score like the Celtics had to do.

“Maybe, if there’s another possibility,” Holiday added. “In a situation like this, obviously point differential meant a lot. If there’s a different or alternate way, that would be great.”

The Celtics look to keep moving forward when they meet the Indiana Pacers in the quarterfinals.