How the Celtics can advance in the NBA Cup on Tuesday night
BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics are still alive in the NBA Cup, but whether they advance to the Knockout Round on Tuesday night is out of their hands.
The Celtics finished up Group Play with a 3-1 record after beating the Chicago Bulls on Friday night, but the Atlanta Hawks captured Group C with a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics now have to hope they fall into the Eastern Conference's Wild Card spot, but their plus-23 point differential might not be enough to get the job done.
The idle Celtics will be spectators on Tuesday night after their back-to-back against Cleveland and Miami, and will be locked into two very important games that will determine their NBA Cup fate.
What the Celtics need to advance in NBA Cup
It all falls on point differential for Boston, so the Celtics will be rooting hard for the Orlando Magic to beat the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. The Magic currently lead the East with a plus-60 point differential in Group Play, but they'd win Group A with a win over the Knicks.
That would throw New York into the Wild Card, but they only have a plus-15 differential heading into Tuesday's action. If the Knicks win, that would make the Magic the East's Wild Card team thanks to their massive point differential.
Orlando is on a roll at the moment, winning six straight and 12 of their last 13. The Knicks have won three of their last four, and seven of their last 10.
But even if the Magic are victorious on Tuesday, the Celtics would need a little help from the Bucks-Pistons game in Detroit. Both of those teams sit at 3-0 in Group B, and the Celtics would need the Bucks (plus-29) to win by at least six points or the Pistons (plus-28) to win by at least seven points. Either of those outcomes would knock the Bucks or Pistons point differential below the Celtics, and Boston would clinch the Wild Card.
The Bucks are starting to get right and have won six straight. They also have a win over the Pistons outside of NBA Cup play, with a 127-120 overtime victory in Milwaukee on Nov. 13.
Despite their perfect record in NBA Cup play, the Pistons are 9-13 on the season and have lost five of their last seven. Their average margin of defeat in those five losses is 11.6 points.
The Celtics can do a little scouting while watching the Pistons-Bucks game too. Boston will host the Pistons on Wednesday before welcoming in the Bucks to TD Garden on Friday night.
NBA Cup Knockout Rounds
Teams that advance out of group play will play in the NBA Cup Quarterfinals from Dec. 10-11, with those games hosted by the higher seeded teams. Winners will then head to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup Semifinal on Dec. 14 and the NBA Cup Championship on Dec. 17.