Dreams of an NBA Cup in Boston were eradicated on Tuesday night, as the Celtics were eliminated from the competition.
Heading into the night, the Cs needed either an Orlando Magic win or a 37-point New York Knicks win paired with a comfortable win by the Detroit Pistons or Milwaukee Bucks. It was pretty clear that a Magic victory was off the table right from the start.
On the contrary, a 37-blowout was very possible for almost the entire night.
New York even led by 37 at one point late in the third quarter.
It was all downhill from there.
All of a sudden, the Knicks stopped rebounding, threw errant passes, and played an incredibly sloppy fourth quarter… or was it a COWARDLY one???
I contend that the mere thought of matching up with the Celtics in the NBA Cup quarterfinals was enough to take New York’s foot right off of the gas. Their 31-point lead heading into the fourth quarter was cut to just 15 by the final buzzer, and Boston’s hopes of Banner 18.5 were cut to nothing.
“Why should I care, Sam? I hate the NBA Cup and it’s stupid and too confusing!”
Well, all Cup games (besides the final) count toward the regular-season record. So, had the Celtics advanced, their quarter and semifinal games would’ve accounted for games 81 and 82.
Now, the Cs will have to wait to find out when, where, and who those games will be played against.
We do know that there will be a game on December 12th or 13th, then another on the 15th or 16th. Beyond that, the rest is all speculation (as of 10:45 p.m. ET Tuesday).
Celtics will now have two games added to their schedule.
December 12 or 13…likely in Boston
And December 15 or 16…likely a road game.9 other East teams in the pool…
Cleveland, Miami, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington, Detroit, Indiana, Chicago
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) December 4, 2024
Our very own Bobby Manning did some digging and concluded that it is most likely that the Celtics will see the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards in these matchups, but it’s not set in stone.
We’ll likely learn more about the pair of games in the coming hours/days. For now, we know that the Cs will host (our) Detroit Pistons Wednesday night at TD Garden.
