Crushing The Numbers - March 27, 2024

Two games. That’s all the Maine Celtics have left before the regular season comes to an end. 

The Celtics sat outside the playoff cutline at 11-11 less than a month ago. Since then, Maine has won nine of their last 10 games, including a six-game win streak that vaulted them into second place in the Eastern Conference standings. A lot can change in a short matter of time in the G League. 

With the playoffs fast approaching, few teams have better positioned themselves than the Celtics. Maine has gone from teetering on the edge of the top-six to battling for the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, cementing themselves as a playoff team a week ago and only improving their standing in the days since. The Celtics are currently one-and-a-half games behind first-place Osceola. Both teams have two games left on the schedule – if Osceola happens to lose both and Maine goes 2-0, the Celtics will roll into the postseason the number one seed in the East. Any other outcome, and it’s the two-seed or lower for Maine given that the Magic own the tiebreaker. On the bright side, the Celtics hold the tiebreaker over Indiana and Delaware, the two teams sitting right below them in the standings. 

It helps that Maine had some external factors break their way. In recent days, both Osceola and Delaware have lost while the Celtics are on a three-game win streak. Capital City, Indiana and Long Island also took multiple losses over the last week-plus, putting the Celtics in the driver’s seat among the teams battling for homecourt advantage in the playoffs. If Maine finishes in the top-four, Celtics fans are guaranteed at least one playoff game at the Portland Expo. If the Celtics finish first or second in the East, they’ll secure a first-round bye, and their first playoff game will be in the second round against the winner of the 3/6 or 4/5 matchup from the opening round. 

Two pivotal contests between Indiana and Osceola may ultimately determine Maine’s seeding. The Mad Ants face the Magic in central Florida on the last two days of the regular season – a pair of Indiana victories (paired with two Maine victories) puts the Celtics in first place. A 1-1 split or an 0-2 road trip for Indiana all but ensures the Celtics the two-seed, provided Maine takes care of its own business against College Park and Texas to close out the year. 

 The teams battling with Maine not only faced quality opponents down the stretch, but those quality opponents are each other; meanwhile, the Celtics have not faced an East team in playoff contention since they beat Delaware twice earlier this month. There’s a real chance the rest of the East contenders cannibalize themselves while Maine racks up victories against teams with little to no playoff implications, handing the Celtics a favorable playoff seed. 

Many things have gone the way of the Celtics as of late. Though some of that has been uncontrollable, Maine has put a vice grip on the things it can control; taking it one step at a time and outplaying each individual opponent that stands in front of them, all while dialing in the levels of consistency focus required for a deep playoff run. The season has been on the line for weeks now, and the Celtics have fully risen to the occasion.