Category: NBA

The Sacramento Kings boosted their NBA post-season hopes with a 127-117 win at the Detroit Pistons.

Zach LaVine scored 43 points and DeMar DeRozan 37 for the Kings, who came from 18 points down to secure a third successive victory.

They remain ninth in the Western Conference, one win ahead of the Dallas Mavericks.

Teams finishing from seventh to 10th qualify for the play-in tournament, which runs from 15-18 April.

The only side who can deny the Kings are the 11th-placed Phoenix Suns, who have three fewer wins with four regular-season games remaining.

The Miami Heat, assured of a play-in place in the East, won 117-105 at home against the already eliminated Philadelphia 76ers, who suffered a 12th successive defeat.

3 observations after Sixers' losing streak grows to a dozen in Miami  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers finished winless for the full duration of March Madness.

Their losing streak grew to a dozen games Monday night in Miami with a 117-105 defeat to the Heat. 

Lonnie Walker IV and Quentin Grimes scored 29 points apiece for the 23-56 Sixers.

Duncan Robinson was the Heat’s leading scorer with 21 points off the bench on 7-for-8 shooting. Tyler Herro added 20 points and rookie center Kel’el Ware had a 19-point, 17-rebound double-double. 

The Sixers’ many sidelined players included Justin Edwards (rib contusion) and Guerschon Yabusele (personal reasons). Miami’s injury list included Bam Adebayo, who sat because of back spasms. 

The Sixers will face the Wizards on Wednesday night in their final road game of the season. Here are observations on their loss to the Heat:

Bagley joins the starters

Marcus Bagley made his first career start and the Sixers extended their record-setting number of starting units this season.

The team’s 53rd lineup was Jared Butler, Grimes, Walker, Bagley and Adem Bona.  

Bagley gave the Sixers a 4-0 lead when he nabbed a steal and turned it into a fast-break layup. The Sixers capitalized on Miami’s early sloppiness and forced the game’s first five turnovers. 

Bagley had another nice play on the Sixers’ final possession of the first quarter when he slipped behind the Heat’s zone defense and slammed in a Grimes lob. He’s had some good moments as a cutter and offensive rebounder his last few outings.

Seven games in, Bagley has yet to break the three-point ice. He went 0 for 2 from long range in Miami, which puts him at 0 for 15 overall in the NBA. He posted six points, six rebounds, a block and a steal in his 23 minutes.

More early shooting woes

As a team, the Sixers’ shooting start was again very poor. They missed 16 of their first 18 three-point attempts. 

Outside shooting is one of the areas where the Sixers have ranked among the league’s worst this season. Entering Monday, they were 26th in the NBA at 34.3 percent from long distance.

Walker was literally the only Sixer knocking down threes in the first half.

He was 3 for 7 beyond the arc and his teammates were 0 for 12. After an 18-point game Saturday night in the Sixers’ loss to the Timberwolves, Walker remained aggressive, decisive and low-turnover. His confidence certainly grew as he kept seeing shots drop.

Though the Sixers used a 10-man rotation, Walker, Bona and Grimes all logged at least 18 minutes in the first half. Long-range shooting isn’t part of Bona’s game, but he showed plenty of other strengths in a bright, bouncy start.

Bona tallied 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting, 11 rebounds and three blocks. The rookie’s first block was an impressive, well-timed rejection of a Herro driving layup attempt. Over his last 12 games, Bona’s swatted 31 shots.

Closing in on top-5 lottery odds

Miami led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter and held an eight-point halftime edge. 

A third-quarter Grimes scoring flurry erased the Sixers’ deficit completely. He drained four triples in the third period and the Sixers took the lead with an 11-0 run.

Grimes eventually cooled off a bit and the Sixers couldn’t secure the necessary stops in the fourth quarter. Davion Mitchell’s step-back jumper over Bona stretched the Heat’s lead to 13 points. Grimes missed three consecutive free throws with 2:04 left.

On paper, Wednesday’s matchup with the 17-61 Wizards looks to be a winnable game for the Sixers. Whatever the result, they’re now nearly locked into top-five NBA draft lottery odds:

• Fourth-best odds: Pelicans (21-57)
• Fifth-best odds: Sixers (23-56)
• Sixth-best odds: Nets (25-53) 

‘Celtics City' beyond the episode: The Len Bias tragedy originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics expierienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in June of 1986.

Just over a week after defeating the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals to secure Banner 16, the C’s selected highly-touted Maryland forward Len Bias with the second overall pick in the draft. Two days later, Bias died from cardiac arrhythmia induced by a cocaine overdose.

The tragedy was the subject of Episode 6 of Max’s Celtics City docuseries, titled “Untenable Toll.” Longtime NBA reporter Jackie MacMullan covered Bias’ death and shared her reaction to the emotional recall of Bias’ passing.

“It was the worst story I’ve ever covered, bar none,” MacMullan said on NBC Sports Boston’s Keys to the City show recapping Episode 6, as seen in the video player above. “It was the worst story, because by all accounts he was a great kid, a gregarious kid. And by the way, that can be true and you can still do cocaine. They’re not mutually exclusive. That was just a tragedy of epic proportions for that family.”

Bias’ death marked the begininng of a dark era in the franchise’s history. The Celtics battled and beat the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons in a heated 1987 playoff series before ultimately falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. After dominating the decade, they wouldn’t win another title until 2008.

“After Len Bias died, nothing went right. Nothing,” MacMullan added. “(Bill) Walton trips on (Robert) Parish’s foot, he never plays again. (Kevin) McHale breaks his foot, (Larry) Bird starts having back problems. That day set off an unprecedented period of time, including the death of Reggie Lewis. It was like that one thing cast a pall over that franchise that was not lifted for the longest time.”

More Celtics City ‘Beyond the Episode’

• Episode 1: “Founding Fathers”
• Episode 2: “No Final Victories”
• Episode 3: “All Swept Up”
• Episode 4: “Great Hope, Period”
• Episode 5: “F**k the Celtics”

Check out our footage of moments from “Celtics City” Episode 6 below:

Celtics legend Robert Parish had enough of one of the biggest villains from the 1980s Pistons, Bill Laimbeer. After Laimbeer used his elbows a little too aggressively when going up for a rebound, “The Chief” clobbered him:

After missing the final seven games of the regular season and being questionable for Game 1 of the first round vs. the Indiana Pacers in 1991, Larry Bird put on a show for the Celtics faithful. Bird finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and 3 steals in 41 minutes while besting Pacers rival Chuck Person:

Watch the full “Keys to the City” episode below:

Led by LaVine, Kings recover from ‘low point' to beat Pistons originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Kings’ final road trip of the 2024-25 NBA regular season was a roller coaster, to say the least.

After three consecutive losses — capped off by a troubling defeat to the 17-win Washington Wizards on April 2 — Sacramento bounced back with a trio of wins to salvage the six-game jaunt.

Monday’s victory perhaps was indicative of the trip as a whole, as the Kings recovered from an 18-point first-half deficit to claim a 127-117 win over the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.

Guard Zach LaVine led the way with 43 points, including 16 straight for Sacramento branching the third and fourth quarters. The midseason addition had it going from outside, shooting 8 for 11 from 3-point range.

“When he gets the heater going, it’s a different type of heater,” coach Doug Christie said postgame of LaVine. “You just want him to touch the ball every time.”

LaVine’s huge night came just 24 hours after another big performance, dropping 37 points with seven triples in the Kings’ 120-113 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

The two-time All-Star became the first player in franchise history to have consecutive games with 35-plus points and five-plus 3-pointers, per NBA Stats.

Zach LaVine is the first Kings player to record 35+ points and 5+ threes in consecutive games.

Last night: 37 PTS, 7 3PM
Tonight: 43 PTS, 8 3PM https://t.co/S9XYL38vpbpic.twitter.com/93ANudMYcp

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) April 8, 2025

Forward DeMar DeRozan, who went on a 37-point heater of his own Monday, didn’t appear shocked by LaVine’s red-hot shooting.

After all, the two teammates previously shared the floor with the Chicago Bulls from 2021 to 2024 before a February reunion in Sacramento at the NBA trade deadline. So, DeRozan knows about LaVine’s ability to catch fire as well as anyone.

“I just told [LaVine] to keep going. I was supposed to come in for him at the start of the fourth. I told Coach to just leave him in,” DeRozan told NBC Sports California’s Morgan Ragan and Deuce Mason on “Kings Postgame Live.” “He was hot. He led us. Without him getting hot, we wouldn’t have gotten this win.

“It’s nothing new for me. I’ve seen it.”

"It's nothing new for me. I've seen it."

DeMar DeRozan wasn't surprised to see Zach LaVine catch fire tonight 🔥 pic.twitter.com/CxLUxXpRVV

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) April 8, 2025

While the Kings’ rough start to the trip certainly wasn’t ideal, Christie believes it helped inspire the combined 80-point night from his top scoring tandem.

“The basketball universe — it’s an interesting thing,” Christie delineated to reporters. “But I tell them, sometimes you get what you need and not what you want.

“We want to play well all the time. But obviously, in that moment, there were many things with us that needed to be discussed and needed to be — that’s a part of our game that needs to evolve as well. And I think it took a low point like that to make us address it.”

DeRozan offered a similar observation on the impact of last week’s Wizards loss.

“Every individual had to look themselves in the mirror, first and foremost, and understand that’s not the complete level we got to bring every single night if we want to be a playoff team,” DeRozan explained. “Ever since then, everybody’s been stepping up.”

The Kings’ leaders have stepped up the most; forward Domantas Sabonis added a triple-double Monday to help Sacramento battle back from their early adversity — just as the team has responded to that “low point” in Washington, D.C.

Now, with some clear momentum heading back home, the Kings hope to carry it through the end of the regular season. Currently the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference, Sacramento will clinch a spot in the NBA play-in tournament if the Golden State Warriors defeat the Kevin Durant-less Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

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Durant ruled out for Warriors-Suns game as ankle injury lingers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors won’t have to worry about Kevin Durant when they play Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night at PHX Arena.

The star Suns forward has been ruled out for the Western Conference matchup due to his left ankle sprain, a nagging injury that has caused him to miss Phoenix’s last three games.

Durant sustained the injury during the Suns’ March 30 loss to the Rockets, when he stepped on Houston forward Jabari Smith Jr.’s foot as he was driving to the basket midway through the third quarter. The injury originally was expected to keep Durant out at least one week.

The 36-year-old is averaging 26.6 points on 52.7-percent shooting with 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Suns this season.

Durant won’t be on the floor to face his former team, but the Warriors will be at full strength, with everyone available for the game per the latest NBA injury report.

Golden State is looking to bounce-back from a 106-96 loss to the Rockets on Sunday at Chase Center, which dropped them from No. 5 in the West to No. 6. The Suns, meanwhile, sit 2 1/2 games back of the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 10 seed and final NBA play-in tournament spot.

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Tatum ‘wanted more' early in NBA career, now credits Celtics' approach originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Jayson Tatum’s talent was evident as a 19-year-old rookie, but it wasn’t until his third season with the Boston Celtics that he was able to fully unleash his superstar potential.

The third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft averaged 30.5 minutes but only 10.5 field goal attempts per game as a rookie. Those numbers increased to 31.1 minutes and 13.1 field goal attempts in Year 2, then in Year 3, Tatum’s professional career took off.

Tatum earned his first All-Star nod in his third season, averaging 34.3 minutes and 18.6 shot attempts per game. Since then, he has been selected to the All-Star Game each year. The 27-year-old has evolved into the face of the franchise, and now, with an NBA championship under his belt, he’s on track to go down as one of the greatest Celtics to ever step on the TD Garden parquet.

In an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Boston’s Brian Scalabrine, Tatum opened up about his growth from quiet-but-confident rookie to NBA superstar. While admitting that he wanted the ball more early in his career, he acknowledged that former Celtics coach Brad Stevens may have been right to bring him along slowly.

“My career has went as well as I could have ever thought or imagined,” Tatum told Scalabrine. “Yes, when I was younger, I was a 19-year-old rookie, and I felt like I could have been doing more. Brad (Stevens), like, ‘Yo, put me in better positions, give me the ball more.’ Like, as a young player, I had that confidence in myself that I wanted more. And again, I’ve started every game of my career, I’ve played 30 minutes, I’ve been on the floor. And maybe Brad was bringing me along at the right speed, and he knew more than I did.

“So when I was younger, yeah, I wanted more. Where I’m at now, I love how everything has played out and I love where I’m at and I love the things that I’ve accomplished. And we won. We got one. So I’m not content because we want to win some more, but I think it worked out how it was supposed to.”

Tatum took a backseat to superstar Kyrie Irving for the first two years of his C’s tenure. Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Gordon Hayward, Marcus Morris, and a young Al Horford also had important roles, preventing Tatum from fully taking over.

But over the last half-decade, Tatum and Brown have established themselves as arguably the best duo in the NBA. The tandem propelled the Celtics to one of the best seasons in franchise history en route to the 2024 NBA championship, and they’re well on their way to making another run in 2025.

The Celtics, boasting a 58-20 record with four regular-season games remaining, will visit the New York Knicks on Tuesday. Barring a shocking finish to the campaign that would require the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers to lose their remaining four games, Boston will enter the 2025 postseason with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Watch Scalabrine’s full interview with Tatum below:

Rockets analyst makes wild Draymond Green claim after antics vs. Alperen Şengün originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

To most NBA analysts and pundits, Warriors forward Draymond Green is one of the league’s best defenders — if not the best — and can shut down any top player.

But after Green got into it with All-Star center Alperen Şengün during the Warriors’ 106-96 loss on Sunday night at Chase Center, former NBA player and current Houston Rockets color analyst Ryan Hollins had some pointed words for the Golden State forward.

“That’s ridiculous,” Hollins said on the Rockets’ Space City Home Network broadcast as Green was assessed a technical foul for shoving Sengun before Houston could inbound the ball (h/t Awful Announcing). “Look at him. The ball’s not in bounds. He’s just trying to get in Şengün’s head. He knows he can’t guard him to save his life.”

Şengün believes Green’s technical foul was the turning point in the game.

“I think that was the moment we won the game because everybody got heated up and we responded well,” Şengün told reporters. “I think they were trying to scare us to play softer. But you just play harder after that and just help my team.”

Green later picked up a Flagrant 1 foul for elbowing Şengün in the face while going up for a layup.

Green is making a strong push for a second-career NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, but Hollins clearly believes second-year Rockets wing Amen Thompson should take home the honor.

To Thompson’s credit, he shut down Steph Curry and held the two-time NBA MVP to three points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field. Curry was 0 of 3 from the field when guarded by Thompson, per NBA.com’s advanced metrics.

But according to those same advanced metrics, Şengün made 3 of 8 shots and scored seven of his 19 total points when defended by Green during Sunday’s game.

So, Hollins’ theory that Green can’t guard Şengün might have played well to Rockets fans watching the game, but the numbers show that the Warriors forward can hold his own.

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As the Knicks gear up for a playoff run, Mitchell Robinson’s role remains one of the things that could push the team’s hopes of advancing far in the right direction. 

Since returning from left ankle surgery in February, Robinson has played in just 15 games. As New York has eased the seven-footer back into the rotation, he’s put up lukewarm numbers (averaging 5.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in 16.1 minutes). The big man has also looked gassed at times as he looks to get back into basketball shape. Robinson quipped last week, “I need to be able to play like seven minutes straight,” when he was asked where he wants to be physically.

There’s been some signs of progress. Filling in for Karl-Anthony Towns as a starter last week, Robinson had season-highs of 14 points and 14 rebounds in a 105-91 win against the Philadelphia 76ers. In the last eight games, Robinson has recorded at least nine rebounds on four different occasions.

Then there’s also the quiet nights. Robinson was scoreless with two rebounds against the Los Angeles Clippers two weeks ago. He had two points and two boards in 13 minutes in Sunday night’s 112-98 win against the Phoenix Suns.

Though he’s been inconsistent, the Knicks need Robinson’s presence on the defensive end. He brings a skill set that no other Knick player can offer. With a 7-foot-4 wingspan, Robinson is a legitimate rim-protector and he’s one of the best offensive rebounders in the NBA. In his limited minutes, the Knicks are defending better with him on the floor. The team is giving up 106.5 points per 100 possessions when Robinson is playing and 113.2 points when he’s sitting.

Limited available minutes

When the Knicks first traded for Towns, there were questions of if both centers would see the floor together often. So far, it’s been only an occasional option the club has gone to. Towns and Robinson have only played 41 minutes together according to NBA Stats.

But the results have been promising. Robinson and Towns have worked well together. With both centers on the floor, the Knicks are outscoring opponents by 10.7 points per 100 possessions.

If Robinson and Towns don’t play together, Robinson’s minutes will be cut. Towns plays around 35 minutes a night, which leaves very little time for Robinson to see the floor. The big man combo did see some time together against Phoenix. Finding time for Robinson to play will be a challenge for head coach Tom Thibodeau, but it’s a good problem to have. At the moment, New York has more depth on the roster than all season.

Quietly, Robinson has made a significant impact in the playoffs for the Knicks. In 2023, he dominated the offensive glass, pulverizing Cleveland Cavaliers big men Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in New York’s first round series win. As a backup in 2024, Robinson defended 76ers star Joel Embiid well in limited minutes. Before exiting the postseason early due to injury in 2024, the Knicks outscored opponents by 13.2 points per 100 possessions in Robinson’s 115 minutes.

With just four games left in the regular season, time is running out for Robinson to get into perfect shape. But just having his rim-protecting presence on the floor at certain moments should be a boon to the Knicks' defense in the postseason.

As NBA scrambled to catch up, Celtics put faith in championship core originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

While many of the Celtics’ primary rivals spent the past year making roster tweaks seemingly designed to counteract what the defending champions do best, Boston’s president of basketball operations Brad Stevens elected to do something even bolder in the modern NBA: He decided to simply run it back with his championship core.

As the Celtics prep for their next postseason adventure, their roster looks almost identical to a season ago. Svi Mykhailiuk, Oshae Brissett, and Jaden Springer have departed; Baylor Scheierman and Torrey Craig are the new faces. In a league that’s constantly changing, the Celtics were content to keep their top nine intact and challenge everyone else to catch up.

What gave Stevens the confidence to lean into this core?

“At the end of the day, you have to assess your team at the end of every year,” said Stevens. “And there are all kinds of factors, right? There are factors — where you are in the aprons, now there are factors, certainly, of where you are in repeater taxes, and all of those things that come into play later on.

“But if you can look at your team and you’re able to bring back a team that is highly successful, with as elite of character, on and off the court as I’ve been around, [the decision to stay intact is a] no brainer.”

Celtics front office staffers have repeatedly marveled at Boston’s blend of not only elite basketball talent, but elite off-the-court character. Chemistry is off the charts and players embrace each other’s successes. The camaraderie of this group has kept everyone sane over the past 200 days, particularly when its loftiest goals can’t be achieved for another two months.

The Celtics will finish the season slightly below last year’s 64-win total. A year after finishing 14 games clear of its closest rival, Boston will almost certainly be the No. 2 seed looking up at the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics’ scoring differential isn’t as glitzy as a season ago when it posted a top-five number all time, and the Oklahoma City Thunder might just bump Boston from that group with a historic mark of their own this season.

Still, Jaylen Brown has repeatedly suggested that these Celtics are better than a year ago when they steamrolled their competition en route to Banner 18. Does Stevens believe this year’s team is better, too?

“I think the way we played at our best is [better] and that’s not a surprise because we’re all back, right?” said Stevens. “We haven’t had a full complement of guys for very many games this year … but I believe in where we can go and I think we can consistently get there fast. I do think the competition is better, all around the league, East and West. And, ultimately, we’re going to have to play really well to do what we did last year.”

Undeniably, it feels like Boston’s bench has improved. Payton Pritchard should be the Sixth Man of the Year after thriving in an elevated role. Luke Kornet, who rushed to re-sign with Boston on what now feels like a criminally low minimum-salary contract, has been one of the most efficient big men in the entire league. Sam Hauser, when not hindered by back woes, continues to be a 3-point shooting menace. Al Horford refuses to look like a player that will turn 39 during the NBA postseason.

Boston’s preferred starting five of Brown, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday has played only 23 games together. More concerning: That group has a minus-0.4 net rating in 343 minutes together — a far cry from the plus-11 net rating that group carried in 623 regular-season minutes together last season.

Stevens and the Celtics seem to believe that group can find its mojo quickly when the lights get bright.

Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

The Celtics are further emboldened by the way they’ve thrived whenever they are shorthanded. Boston has leaned heavy into different play styles, like utilizing multiple double-big lineups that have produced some of the team’s best basketball. The Celtics seemingly have ways to counteract whatever their opposition does best.

The question is whether those rivals did enough to take away Boston’s strengths. Teams scrambled to add wing defenders that could help defend the likes of Tatum and Brown. The Knicks kicked off last summer with the big-swing addition of Mikal Bridges; the Cavaliers added De’Andre Hunter at the trade deadline.

Stevens believes this isn’t unusual, and that teams routinely make changes based on the strengths of the NBA’s most successful squads.

“I don’t think this is specific to us. I don’t think we should make that bigger than what it is,” said Stevens. “Every team is always watching the last four teams play in late May and into June, and they’re deciding how they want to build their roster to combat those teams. I mean, that’s every year.

“And so last year was probably no exception than the other years that we’ve had success, other than we were the last one standing. So we’re used to that. We’re used to the standpoint of, everybody in this very competitive league is trying to get better all the time. And you do pay attention to who the last teams are standing to try to improve your own team.

“You’re also doing it from our standpoint with who you think the up-and-coming teams are. Who are some of the younger guys that look like they’re going to mesh and mold into those championship teams? As you think, not only the next couple of years, but down the line.”

But it’s telling that the Celtics didn’t need to make any tweaks of their own. The Celtics were downright dominant in their postseason run and they weren’t going to mess with a successful formula.

The Celtics are banking that another year of chemistry and cohesion will again differentiate this team on a big stage. The rest of the league may be better, but Boston feels like it is, too.

Four teams still in mix to play Celtics in first round of playoffs originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics are just about locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, which has been the case for quite a while.

The same can’t be said for which opponent the Celtics will face in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. The race for the No. 7 seed is still very much up in the air.

There are four teams — the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat — still in the mix, although the Magic and Hawks remain the favorites.

The Celtics’ first-round opponent will be the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game in the play-in tournament, which is scheduled for Tuesday, April 15. This means the Celtics will have about four or five days to prepare for their first-round series, which is expected to begin either Saturday, April 19 or Sunday, April 20.

Here’s an updated look at the standings and No. 7 seed probabilities as of Monday morning (probabilities via Basketball Reference:

The Magic and Hawks play each other twice more — Tuesday in Orlando and Sunday in Atlanta. Those two games could end up deciding which team hosts the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in tournament game.

The Magic also have to play the Celtics on Wednesday and the Indiana Pacers on Friday, while the Hawks also play the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday and Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.

The Bulls are only one game behind the Hawks for the No. 8 seed. They’ve won three games in a row and seven of their last 10. The Bulls have four games left — Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Wednesday against the Heat, Friday against the Wizards and Sunday against the Sixers.

It looked like the Heat had dropped out of the No. 7 seed race in mid-March after losing 10 straight games. But a five-game win streak at the end of the month propelled Miami back into the mix. The Heat are still long shots to get into the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game, but it’s not an impossible task.

Miami has four games remaining — Monday against the Sixers, Wednesday against the Bulls, Friday against the Pelicans and Sunday against the Wizards.

The ideal first-round opponent for the Celtics likely would be the Magic. Orlando is a strong defensive team, but its offense ranks among the worst in the league. The Magic are also dealing with injuries and don’t have a ton of playoff experience.

Overall, the Celtics shouldn’t have too much trouble with any potential Round 1 opponent. The real challenge doesn’t start until the conference semifinals.