Maine earns #7 seed, will face Greensboro in first round

PORTLAND, Maine. - The Maine Celtics will be the #7 seed in the Eastern Conference and face the #2 Greensboro Swarm in the first round of the NBA G League Playoffs presented by Google.

Maine (18-18) will face the Swarm (24-12) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on the road in Greensboro. The game will broadcast live on Samsung TV Plus. The NBA G League Playoffs presented by Google feature three, single-elimination rounds before culminating with a best-of-three NBA G League Finals beginning on April 8.

The Celtics have faced Greensboro four times this season, going 1-3 in those meetings across the Tip-Off Tournament and Regular Season. The first two games of the Tip-Off Tournament took place in Greensboro, where Maine lost two games by a combined four points, including 131-129 overtime loss in the season opener.

The most recent meeting between the two sides was at the Portland Expo on January 25. Tosan Evbuomwan scored 34 points and Max Shulga poured in 33 as Maine beat the Swarm 147-138. Shulga and Evbuomwan became just the ninth pair of Maine teammates to score 30 or more points in the same game in franchise history. Shulga also dished out 13 assists and Evbuomwan recorded a career-high 10 assists in the game.

This time around, Evbuomwan will be playing for the other team. On February 6, the Charlotte Hornets signed Evbuomwan to a Two-Way contract. Evbuomwan became the second player this season to earn a GATORADE Call-Up to the NBA, joining Wendell Moore Jr. (Detroit Pistons). Moore Jr. earned his Call-Up after those first two games of the year against the Swarm. In nine games with Maine, Evbuomwan averaged 19.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in 35.2 minutes per game. Greensboro also features another former Maine Celtic in DJ Rodman, who played 25 games for Maine last season, helping the Celtics reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Celtics won their final three games in a row to end the regular season, including a 130-105 win over the Cleveland Charge in the regular season finale to clinch their fourth consecutive playoff berth. During that final three game stretch, Maine became one of the most prolific offensive attacks in the league. The Celtics ranked ninth in scoring in the G League with 121.7 PPG, fifth in field goal percentage (50.8%), third in three-point field goal percentage (40.4%), first in free throw percentage (87.5%), and fourth in assists per game (30.0). Greensboro ranks first in the G League in points per game during the Regular Season, averaging 126.2 points per contest.

Maine has qualified for the postseason for each of the past four years, and has reached the Eastern Conference Finals in back-to-back seasons.