What Celtics Fans Should Pay Attention To In Final NBA Games

The NBA regular-season finale is Sunday, and there are multiple key games for Celtics fans to keep an eye on.

Boston secured homecourt advantage through the Eastern Conference playoffs this month, so that means it will have to wait until after the play-in tournament to learn who its first-round playoff opponent will be.

The Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks are locked into the ninth and 10th seeds, respectively, which means the winner of that matchup will face the loser of the matchup between the seventh and eighth seeds. Those spots will be decided Sunday as the Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat hope to avoid the play-in tournament. Let’s look at what each needs to do to avoid fighting for their postseason hopes.

Orlando Magic
Jamahl Mosley’s side has lost four of their last five games heading into their regular-season finale against the Bucks at Kia Center, who will be playing for the No. 2 seed in the East. The sides last played Wednesday where Milwaukee crushed the Magic, 117-99, at Fiserv Forum without Giannis Antetoukounmpo. A loss would put Orlando in danger of having to participate in the play-in.

Indiana Pacers
It’s unlikely Atlanta will want to play spoiler to the sixth-seeded Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse since it should prepare for its matchup against the Bulls in the first play-in game. Indiana simply needs to take care of business and beat the Hawks to avoid the play-in game.

Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers will be rooting hard for either the Bucks and/or the Hawks to win their respective matchups. Philadelphia can go as high as fifth depending on those games, and it should handle business at Wells Fargo Center against a Brooklyn Nets team with nothing to play for. If the Magic and Pacers win, Philly will have to face the No. 8 seed in the play-in tournament.

Miami Heat
Erik Spoelstra’s side heads into Sunday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center with little momentum, but Celtics fans are well aware of how quickly they can get hot. Miami needs a lot to happen to escape the play-in game. The Heat also need the Bucks and/or Hawks to win their respective games as it should handle their business against a Raptors side they beat by 22 on Friday.

As mentioned, the Bucks will be competing for the No. 2 seed along with the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers. That doesn’t affect Boston until the second round and the conference finals. So while the Celtics won’t have much to play for when they play the Washington Wizards at TD Garden, there still will be plenty of drama Sunday in the NBA.