The Boston Celtics currently own the best record in the NBA for the 2023-24 season and with it, a 15-game lead over the next closest ball club (the Milwaukee Bucks, at present) in the Eastern Conference standings. That has put them in a place to tinker with unusual lineups and to play depth players who otherwise rarely see the floor for Boston. That has still not slowed the juggernaut that is this Celtics squad down much, in terms of the team’s growing win total.
But when it comes to who they will play in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, all they can do is sit back and watch. Clubs like the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat lurk as teams that have no business ending up in the play-in tournament, while the Celtics hope for a better matchup to emerge.
Let’s take a look at where the odds of Boston’s first round playoff opponent are as of today, April 9, according to Basketball Reference.