Sports

Celtics become first team to clinch spot in NBA playoffs

Updated on: March 15, 2024 / 7:58 AM EDT / CBS Boston

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BOSTON -- There is still a month left in the regular season, but the Boston Celtics have already locked up their spot in the playoffs. Boston became the first team in the NBA to clinch a spot in the postseason on Thursday night.

This has been a forgone conclusion for a while, as Boston has pretty much rolled through the regular season. The Celtics improved to an NBA-best 52-14 on the season with a win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night, and then clinched their spot in the playoffs with a Philadelphia 76ers loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

This marks the 10th straight season the Celtics have made the playoffs, and the 16th time in the last 17 years.

The Celtics remain 9.5 games up on Milwaukee in the East, and should clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference sometime in the near future. Their magic number to do so is now down to seven.

Boston has 16 games left in the season, and Joe Mazzulla will likely start working in some off nights for stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown (and Kristaps Porzinigs, and Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford) the rest of the way.

While the regular season has been loads of fun for Boston fans, all that matters is if the Celtics do something they haven't done since 2008: Win an NBA title.

The Play-In Tournament will take place from April 16-19, which is when Boston will likely learn its first-round opponent. The NBA Playoffs tip off on April 20.

Matt Geagan

Matthew Geagan is a sports producer for CBS Boston. He has been part of the WBZ sports team for nearly 20 years. He moved over to the web in 2012 and has covered all the highs (and a few lows) in Boston sports.