The Boston Celtics took care of business against the Miami Heat on the road on Friday night, earning a 103-91 win despite being without Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis for the night. This was their 48th win of the season in 67 games, and they know that the ultimate goal of their season isn’t to finish with the best possible regular-season record, but to be healthy entering the playoffs as they look to repeat as the NBA champion.
After their win against the Heat, the Celtics are one step closer to this ultimate goal of theirs. As pointed out by the official SportsCenter account on X (formerly Twitter), Boston managed to clinch a spot in the playoffs for the 11th consecutive season with their most recent victory over Miami.
The Celtics’ playoff status was never going to be in doubt; it was always going to be a matter of when, not if, Boston secures its spot within the Eastern Conference’s top-six. While the top seed appears to be out of their reach amid the Cleveland Cavaliers’ hot streak, the Celtics look like a lock for the two-seed, awaiting whatever team comes out of the play-in tournament.
With the team not having to fret their playoff spot anymore, there could very well be more rest days in store for the Celtics’ key players. Jayson Tatum is likely to rest on the second night of a back-to-back, when they take on the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night, while Porzingis won’t be rushed back at all from his current bout with illness.
While the hype surrounding the Celtics isn’t as loud as it was last season, there is no reason to expect them not to be among the league’s most feared contenders when the calendar flips to April.
Can Celtics ride three-point barrage to back-to-back rings?
The Celtics have taken the three-point revolution to the next level. They have been brazen in shooting the three-ball over the past two seasons, and throughout the 2024-25 campaign, Boston has shown no signs of slowing down in their long-ball focused offense. Not only do the Celtics shoot nearly six more triples per game than the next ranked team (Chicago Bulls), they also make nearly two treys more than the team trailing them in the rankings (Cleveland Cavaliers).
Of course, there is nothing more variable in the game of basketball than three-point shooting. But the Celtics know that this has been a recipe for success for them and until further notice, there is no reason for them to mix it up.
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