The Boston Celtics can clinch the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.
So, with the No. 1 seed all but out of reach -- Milwaukee is up two games on Boston with four games left in the regular season -- you could argue the Celtics should give their star players some rest down the stretch with no seeding at stake.
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But would the ultra-competitive Joe Mazzulla be on board with that strategy? When asked Monday about his team's plan to manage minutes during the final week, Mazzulla noted it would be a "game-by-game" situation before sharing a clear message:
"I really want to win. I like winning."
Mazzulla added that the team's biggest focus over the final seven days won't be jockeying for seeding or managing minutes, but entering the postseason playing good basketball.
"There's nothing we can do about (seeding)," Mazzulla said. "It's out of our control. What we can control is playing the way we play. The last 11 games we're 8-3, No. 1 in both offense and defense, so we're doing a lot of good things. We just have to keep that going."
Boston Celtics
That's a good message for Mazzulla to send publicly, and if the Celtics finish the regular season strong, they should be confident about their playoff path, regardless of who they face in the first round.
Internally, however, there's a good chance the organization is devoting some conversations to load management. The C's have a road-home back-to-back on Tuesday (in Philadelphia) and Wednesday (vs. Toronto) this week, so at the very least, Al Horford won't play in the second contest, while it's possible Robert Williams sits out as well after missing the second game of a back-to-back (vs. Utah) last Friday.
Jayson Tatum (left hip contusion) and Jaylen Brown (low back pain) both were on Friday's injury report as well, so Boston could try to give one of its stars a game off in the coming days.
Mazzulla doesn't seem content to coast into the postseason, however, so don't be surprised if we see mostly-full Celtics rosters over the final four games.