There’s a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon between the Boston Celtics and the rest of the East. With their 135-100 rout of the Thunder on Wednesday, the Celtics opened up a 13-game lead over the second-seeded Bucks in the standings and a 24-game separation from the 10th-seeded Hawks.
In comparison, the top 10 seeds out West are separated by a margin of just 11.5 games. The race to the final seedings is so tight that the 10th-seeded Warriors could mathematically end up as the fifth seed when it’s all said and done, and the struggling fourth-seeded Clippers could drop to nine.
Boston’s vice grip over the East is so tight that no other team in the last 48 years — regardless of conference — has secured a lead of 13 or more games over the second seed. The 73-win Warriors in 2015-16 won their conference by six games, and the 72-win Bulls in 1995-96 won theirs by 12.
The last team to win their conference with a bigger margin were Rick Barry’s 1975-76 Warriors, who finished 21 games clear of the second seed out West.
The Celtics are, in fact, on pace to add to their 13-game lead considering the Bucks and Cavaliers, the second and third seeds respectively, are struggling to close out the season on a strong note.
With their win on Wednesday, the Celtics also secured home court advantage for the entirety of the playoffs, including a potential NBA Finals match-up.
Needless to say, all the regular season records would mean nothing if Boston doesn’t replicate the success in the postseason. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla acknowledged as much on Wednesday.
“We celebrated [clinching the best record] but we’re not taking it for granted,” Mazzulla told reporters. “It’s important not to take it for granted. It’s important to have gratitude. We may never be in this position again. Before the game, we talked about this game as the clincher to put that on ourselves.”
