NBA Cup Clinching Scenarios For Celtics, From Advancing to Elimination

Matt Levine | 2 Hours Ago

Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics have a chance to advance to the knockout stage of the NBA Cup on Friday. The team will be taking on the Chicago Bulls and Boston needs a few things to go their way for it to happen.

Currently, Boston sits with a record of 2-1 in Group Play. They are third in their group as things get going on Friday.

First, the Celtics will need to take down the Bulls. But the team will also need the Cleveland Cavaliers to beat the Atlanta Hawks earlier in the day.

The Hawks and Cavaliers play before the Celtics game tips off so Boston could go into their matchup with Chicago knowing that a win clinches the group. This would be the easiest way for the Celtics to advance and take home first place in Group C.

But if the Celtics were to lose to Chicago today, things would get very difficult. The team would be fighting for a wild-card spot in the knockout round.

First off, they would need the Cavaliers to beat the Hawks. They then would need the Cavaliers to lose to the Washington Wizards next week.

If this situation played out, Boston's advance would come down to a point differential. The Celtics haven't been the greatest in this category so it gets very tricky for them if they can't take down the Bulls on Friday. Boston's

There is also a chance that the Celtics could be eliminated entirely. They would need to drop the game to Chicago, have the Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers, and then have either a win or a loss by the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic.

This would push Boston out of the wild-card race, sending them home completely in the NBA Cup. Of course, Boston wants to win the NBA Cup and the prize money that comes with it.

The NBA Cup Quarterfinals start Dec. 10-11, with the games being hosted by the higher-seeded teams. The winner of those games will head to Las Vegas for the Semi-finals and championship game.

The Celtics have been one of the better teams all season and have looked like the favorites to repeat as NBA champions. They have their eyes set on winning the NBA title but grabbing the NBA Cup along the way wouldn't be too bad either.

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