Could the Celtics Still Steal the 1st Seed?

Greg — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:15:38 -0000

If you had asked me two week ago. No, a week ago. Hell, even three days ago if the Celtics had any chance of catching the Cavs, I would have outright denied the possibility.

While the 2nd seed is far from locked up, there still is, just maybe, the chance that the Celtics could steal the 1st seed from the Cavaliers.

Now, I'll admit the chance is remote, but I'll play out a possible scenario here:

Cleveland Cavaliers:

Record: 61 - 15

Remaining games:

San Antonio

Washington

@ Philadelphia

Boston

@ Indiana

Philadelphia

Boston Celtics:

Record: 58-19, 3.5 GB

Remaining Games:

New Jersey

Miami

@ Cleveland

@ Philadelphia

Washington

Yes, I understand it would be a huge longshot for the Celtics to pull this out. But I'm not going to say it's impossible.

If Cleveland loses to San Antonio tomorrow, which is a realistic possibility, the Celtics will be exactly three games back. On April 12th, they will control their own fate, as they could reduce the Cleveland lead to two games (or less).

Now, the Celtics will need to win out their remaining five games, which doesn't seem impossible, although it will obviously be tough to get by Cleveland. Then, we'll need Cleveland to lose two of four to Washington, Indiana, and two matchups against the Sixers.

It could happen. Not likely, but it could happen. What does everybody think?

Do the Celtics have a shot?

Poll

Do the Celtics have a realistic shot at the number 1 seed in the East?

Yes

34 votes

No

86 votes

Lets just worry about the #2

94 votes

214 votes | Poll has closed

Free Bill!

Greg — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:25:20 -0000

With all of the talk surrounding the Tony Allen thumb injury, and how Gabe Pruitt should move into the rotation and move Eddie to shooting guard, I feel like people are beginning to look over Bill Walker.

With both Scal and TA out, there looks to be a spot as a rotational 2/3 for Billy. Scal occassionally took some 3 minutes, and the C's also occassional went with the 3 guard look of Pruitt, House, and TA. Usually, however, they played one of the big 3 into the second quarter, so the 3 spot was always filled.

However, why not give Bill Walker some run? He's on the roster, we have a spot in the rotation available, and it's not like Doc hasn't had rookies thrive in his rotation before.

Al Jefferson was an excellent role player in 04-05. Tony Allen was too. In fact, Tony even was able to start (with Ricky Davis coming off the bench). In 05-06, Ryan Gomes found his place, and even Gerald Green had a couple of big games with some run. In 06-07, Rajon Rondo found a role for himself. Hell, even Kevinn Pinkney found a role for himself. And last year, Glen Davis found a way to succeed at times.

Yeah, maybe Billy Walker is a little suspect in his ball handling. Maybe his defense is a little raw at this point. However, it's clear that he's untapped potential, and maybe throwing him in during the second quarter for four or five minutes of playing time wouldn't be so bad.

SB Nation User Blog: Greg

Could the Celtics Still Steal the 1st Seed?

Do the Celtics have a realistic shot at the number 1 seed in the East?

Yes

No

Lets just worry about the #2

Free Bill!