Potential Playoff Preview In Philly

by CelticBalla32 on Apr 14, 2009 4:34 PM EDT

Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers, Apr 14, 2009 8:00 PM EDT

60-20 @ 40-40
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
8:00 pm ET
Wachovia Center (Philadelphia, PA)

If the playoffs were to begin today, Boston's Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchup would be tonight's opponent, the Philadelphia 76ers. However, it is not set in stone. Chicago holds just a half-game advantage over the Sixers, and Philly has two games remaining on their regular season schedule (including tonight) while Chicago has just one. Therefore, there is a chance that Philly could win out and gain control of the sixth seed, which will square off with Orlando in the first round.

Now, when I say that there is a chance, I'm only speaking mathematically. The likeliness of Philly beating the Celtics tonight and handing Cleveland their second home loss of the season tomorrow is... well... it's just not going to happen. To top that off, Chicago's regular season finale is a more than winnable home game against the underwhelming 32-49 Toronto Raptors, who at this point are playing for nothing more or less than lottery odds.

Here's where it gets interesting. Should Philly split their last two games while Chicago takes care of business in their finale, the Sixers and Bulls would tie for overall record (41-41), record against Eastern Conference teams (25-27), and wins against one another (2). If all of that transpires, the deciding factor would come down to winning percentage within each team's respective division. Should that be the case, Chicago would control the rights to the sixth Eastern Conference seed, as they are currently 9-7 against Central Division teams while Philadelphia is just 6-9 against Atlantic Division clubs.

Or, we can forget everything above and just end the confusion tonight by racking up our sixty-first W of the season.

Projected Starters
PG SG SF PF C

Team Leaders
PPG: Paul Pierce (20.3)
RPG: Kevin Garnett (8.5)
APG: Rajon Rondo (8.4)
SPG: Rajon Rondo (1.9)
BPG: Kendrick Perkins (2.0)

Projected Starters
PG SG SF PF C

Team Leaders
PPG: Andre Iguodala (18.7)
RPG: Elton Brand (8.8)
APG: Andre Miller (6.5)
SPG: Andre Iguodala (1.6)
BPG: Samuel Dalembert (1.8)

Key Matchup

	Pts	Reb	Ast
2008 - Rajon Rondo	12.1	5.2	8.4

	Pts	Reb	Ast
2008 - Andre Miller	16.2	4.5	6.5

Injury Report
Kevin Garnett (sore knee - out)
Glen Davis (stomach bug - gametime decision)
Leon Powe (bruised right knee - probable)
Brian Scalabrine (concussions/strained neck - out)
Elton Brand (dislocated right shoulder - out)
Thaddeus Young (sprained right ankle - out)
Jason Smith (torn left ACL - out)

Keys to Victory

Limit Turnovers
Ball Movement
Transition Defense
Control the Glass

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Comments

Just to clarify, if the Bulls take care of business tomorrow night and Philly splits these last 2 games, the Bulls will finish alone in the 6th spot with a 42-40 record, while Philly will be in 7th with a 41-41 record.

by Brian Robb on Apr 14, 2009 4:55 PM EDT reply actions

it is going to be philly

they might win tonight but will get crushed in cleveland tomorrow…

by celticinorlando on Apr 14, 2009 4:56 PM EDT reply actions

glad to see RAY is not suspended

get us 76ers for the playoffs, please!

by aeternus on Apr 14, 2009 4:59 PM EDT reply actions

suspension

hey it was just announced that RayRay is suspended for the game for elbowing Sideshow Bob..

by MunichsNo.1CeltsFan on Apr 14, 2009 5:01 PM EDT reply actions

urgh yea.

just read it on NBA.com

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/04/14/celtics.allen/index.html

thx for the heads up.

by aeternus on Apr 14, 2009 5:07 PM EDT reply actions

no problem
But I also totally agree with you about the Sixers as the Bulls are on a roll right now, they’re 14-1 at home since the All-Star break and I think we all remember the game in March (121-127, most points allowed this season)

by MunichsNo.1CeltsFan on Apr 14, 2009 5:26 PM EDT reply actions

i believe they only go by winning percentage against teams in own division if the two teams are IN the same division, otherwise they go by WP in the conference…….im not sure who owns that (it is very close to a tie though)

if thats a tie then it goes by WP against PLAYOFF teams in own conference, and i believe Philadelphia would win that (though im not sure cause i havent looked lately).

so we could be playing chicago if we lose tonight, cleveland beats philadelphia and chicago beats toronto

by matteo2 on Apr 14, 2009 5:27 PM EDT reply actions

Leon

excited to have Leon back.

by silvershamrocker on Apr 14, 2009 5:33 PM EDT reply actions

word

he is looking good so far in the first.

Kick in the door waving the 4-4.....all you heard was poppa don't hit me no mo'

by CaliforniaGreen on Apr 14, 2009 8:51 PM EDT up reply actions

This article is incorrect, if they both finish at 41-41, Philadelphia would be the 6 seed because they would have a better conference record. 6ers would be 25-27 and chicago would be 24-28 in conference play. In other words if Phily wins out they will be the 6 or if they split and chicago loses their only remaining game. AND the division record tiebreaker is only used if they are in the same division.

by phildy11 on Apr 14, 2009 7:17 PM EDT reply actions

From NBA.com:

TIEBREAKER BASIS:
(-) Tie breaker not needed (better overall winning percentage)
(1) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division
(2) Head-to-head won-lost percentage
(3) Division won-lost percentage
(4) Conference won-lost percentage
(5) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, own conference
(6) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, other conference
(7) Net Points, all games
x-Clinched Playoff Berth | o-Eliminated from Playoffs contention | e-Clinched Eastern Conference | w-Clinched Western Conference
nw-Clinched Northwest Division | p-Clinched Pacific Conference | sw-Clinched Southwest Division | a-Clinched Atlantic Division
c-Clinched Central Conference | se-Clinched Southeast Conference
*-Games remaining vs.Teams Over/Under .500

Division record is considered before conference. It says nothing about differentiating divisions.

Go Celtics! Go Hoyas!

by CelticBalla32 on Apr 14, 2009 8:11 PM EDT up reply actions

According to ESPN:

In the event two or more teams are tied in the standings, a series of tiebreakers are applied to determine which team receives the higher seeding.

Two-Team Tiebreaker
1. Division winner (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the tied teams are in the same division)
2. Better record in head-to-head games
3. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)
4. Higher winning percentage in conference games
5. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference
6. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference
7. Higher point differential between points scored and points allowed

by phildy11 on Apr 14, 2009 8:36 PM EDT reply actions