Playoff Picture

The last week of the 2022-23 NBA G League regular season is upon us, and the Maine Celtics are right in the thick of the playoff race. If all goes well for the Celtics, they will host a home playoff game and reach the postseason for the first time since 2017.  

In the G League playoffs, the top-six teams qualify with the one and two seeds receiving a first-round bye; the three-seed hosts the six-seed and four hosts five in the First Round, the first of three single-elimination conference rounds before the East and West champions meet in a best-of-three NBA G League Finals. 

As of now, the Celtics sit fourth in the Eastern Conference after Sunday afternoon’s loss to Windy City, who now owns the tiebreaker over Maine momentarily. Both the Celtics and Bulls have two games left on the schedule, one of which is a head-to-head matchup at Windy City – the winner of that contest will have a significant seeding advantage come playoff time next week and will hold third place in the Eastern Conference entering the final game of the Regular Season. 

In order to lock themselves into homecourt advantage, the Celtics are going to have to win both remaining games and get some help from the teams around them. The Magic and Go-Go both have three games left, and hold a solo tiebreaker over the Celtics. If Maine finishes out the season with two wins, they will need a loss from either Lakeland or Capital City to secure a top four seed in the Eastern Conference. With nine teams currently competing for four available playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, there are a plethora of different seeding scenarios. However, it is simple for the Celtics; if they win out, they are in. 

The Celtics finish off the regular season against the Knicks on March 23, and the G League playoffs will get underway on March 28. If Maine were to host a playoff game at the Expo, fans should keep their eyes peeled for a first-round matchup to be held on the 28^th or 29^th, with each subsequent round being played on the following days.