How the Celtics can advance in the NBA Cup on Friday
BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics can wrap up Group C in the NBA Cup group stage on Friday night if they beat the Bulls in Chicago. But they'll also need a little help earlier in the afternoon.
The Celtics have been off since Monday and are flying high with six straight wins. Jayson Tatum is playing at an MVP level, Jaylen Brown is averaging 25 points per contest and a career-best 4.4 assists, and Kristaps Porzingis scored 16 points to go with six rebounds in his season debut against the Clippers on Monday.
But while the Bulls are just 8-12 on the season, they've been pretty good in NBA Cup play. They sit ahead of the two other 2-1 teams in Group C (Boston and Atlanta) and are tied with the Cavaliers (1-1) for the best point differential of the bunch.
How the Celtics can clinch Group C in NBA Cup
The Celtics have a few paths to claiming Group C and advancing to the knockout stage. The simplest one Friday is to beat the Bulls and hope that the Cavaliers beat the Hawks earlier in the day. The Cavs and the Hawks tip off at 2:30 p.m. in Atlanta.
The Cavaliers are 17-2 overall on the season, with the Celtics handing them their first loss a few weeks back in their NBA Cup showdown at TD Garden. Their other loss came at the hands of the Hawks on Wednesday night when Trae Young dropped 20 points and dished out a career-high 22 assists for Atlanta in a 135-1224 victory in Cleveland. But that tilt wasn't part of the NBA Cup, so it was just a regular old win for the Hawks.
If the Cavs beat the Hawks and the Celtics take care of business against the Bulls, then Boston (which would improve to 3-1 in group play) would be locked into first place in Group C and clinch a spot in the knockout round. Those outcomes Friday would render the results of Tuesday night's Cavaliers-Wizards group play finale meaningless for Boston.
If the Hawks and the Celtics both win on Friday, then it gets a bit messy.
NBA Cup Tiebreakers
Should the Celtics and the Hawks both come out victorious on Friday, they'd both sit at 3-1 in group play but Atlanta would own the tiebreaker thanks to their head-to-head win over Boston back on Nov. 12. Here are the tiebreakers in NBA Cup group play:
- Head-to-head record
- Point differential
- Total points scored in group play
- Record from last year's regular season
If yet another tiebreaker is needed after all of that, the NBA would go with a random drawing to sort it all out. Very scientific stuff indeed.
The Celtics own the tie-breaker over the Cavaliers thanks to their 120-117 victory at TD Garden on Nov. 19. But that home loss to the Hawks could really come back to haunt them when group stage comes to a close.
If the Celtics don't win Group C, they'd have to hope to land a Wild Card spot. Those go to a second-place team in each conference with the best record in group play and the best point differential.
The Celtics enter Friday's game with a plus-14 differential.
Can Celtics advance with a loss to the Bulls?
If the Bulls win on Friday and the Hawks beat the Cavaliers, then Chicago would claim Group C thanks to their win over Atlanta in group play. If the Bulls and the Cavs win on Friday, Chicago would need a Cavs loss to the Wizards on Tuesday to win the group.
There remains a path for Boston to advance even if they lose to the Bulls on Friday. But the Celtics would need all five teams in Group C to finish at 2-2, which would require the Cavs to beat the Hawks on Friday and the Wizards to beat the Cavs on Tuesday. Then it would fall on point differential, but the Celtics have some work to do in that department.
Boston is currently second in point differential in Group C, trailing Cleveland and Chicago, both of whom sit at plus-15. The Celtics' best bet is to just win on Friday and see how the rest of the cards fall. Losing Friday makes their chances at making the knockout stage a lot murkier.
The Celtics would be eliminated outright if they lose Friday plus a win by the Detroit Pistons over the Indiana Pacers, or a loss and wins by the New York Knicks (at Charlotte) and the Orlando Magic (at Brooklyn).
NBA Cup Knockout Stages
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.
