Celtics clinch 7th seed in East, remaining games officially scheduled

As of this morning, here’s the standings for the play-in tournament:

• Boston Celtics 35-35
• Indiana Pacers 33-37
• Charlotte Hornets 33-37
• Washington Wizards 32-38

The Celtics had the tiebreak with the Pacers and Hornets after taking two of three games from both, but by virtue of both teams losing on Thursday night, Boston has clinched the 7-seed in the Eastern Conference and will have home court advantage throughout the play-in tournament and will host either Indiana, Charlotte, or Washington next Tuesday.

There’s still however regular season games to be played. The remainder of the schedule has been officially posted and both road games in Minneapolis and New York will have afternoon starts.

For what it’s worth, the Celtics have had a troublesome history this season in matinee games. Per CelticsBlog’s Jeff Clark, of Boston’s thirteen games that they went down by 20+ points, five of them happened before the tradition 7 or 7:30 pm start time; three of them were on the back end of a back-to-back.

Brad Stevens has said that he’ll manage playing time and minutes based on playoff position, and now with little consequence for the Celtics tied to the outcomes, expect the team to rely heavily on their second and even third units. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, have shown no intention to tank with their first round pick top-3 protected. The Knicks could finish anywhere between #4 and #6 in the conference so that final game in Madison Square Garden could have significance.