Celtics locked into 2-seed after Cavs clinch top spot in Eastern Conference
The Celtics are officially the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, after the Cavs clinched the top spot.
Feb 28, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) high fives forward Jayson Tatum (0) after the Cleveland Cavaliers called a timeout during the first quarter at TD Garden.
(Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images)The Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the No. 1 seed in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs by defeating the Chicago Bulls 135-113 on Tuesday night. This means the East will run through Cleveland, and the Boston Celtics will officially be fighting from the 2-seed.
Boston will host the No. 7 seed, awarded to the winner of the first game in the play-in tournament, which is currently slated to be between the Orlando Magic (No. 7) and Atlanta Hawks (No. 8). Both have proved to be difficult opponents for the C's, who have a 1-2 record against the Hawks and 1-1 against the Magic. The Celtics will play Orlando one more time in the regular season on Wednesday.
Although the Celtics are in a decent position as the second seed, the path to hoist The Larry O'Brien Trophy is historically much more common from the top spot. According to LandOfBasketball.com, since the NBA Finals' inception in 1947, 52 of the 78 champions have been No. 1 seeds, including the last two. Comparatively, second seeds have only won the title 16 times. the 2019 Toronto Raptors being the last team to do so.
Obviously, the C's would prefer to be battling top-down, but the Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown core can't be counted out. In 2022, they made the NBA Finals as a No. 3 seed. Granted, they lost, but they have experience running the table in the Eastern Conference from a lower position.
Plus, the pair arguably have the most playoff experience out of any two players in the conference. Beyond their two trips to the finals and 2024 championship, they've also competed in five conference finals and never missed the playoffs.
So, regardless of positioning, the Celtics are a tough out. In fact, they are still the odds-on favorite in the Eastern Conference, according to Kevin Rogers of VegasInsider.com.
Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore at Northeastern University studying communications and media studies. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X @LukeGraham05.
