With both the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers losing their respective games tonight, they are now officially going to face each other in the first round of the playoffs.
We have our fist playoff series matchup locked in. The #4 seed Boston Celtics will play the #5 seed Indiana Pacers in the first round.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) April 8, 2019
The Celtics will have home court advantage as they hold the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Pacers are fifth.
Boston lost to the Orlando Magic 116-108 at home, and that allowed the latter to officially clinch a playoff spot. The Brooklyn Nets' 108-96 over the Pacers also made their postseason participation official.
Article Continues BelowThe Celtics won the season series against the Pacers 3-1, and they are once again expected to advance to the second round, especially since Indiana lost All-Star guard Victor Oladipo to a season-ending injury back in January.
But the Pacers can't be counted out. Even when Dipo was with the team, they have relied on balanced contributions from almost everyone on the roster, and while they have struggled to get wins over the past two months, they still ended up as one of the top five teams in terms of regular season record.
Indiana is also expected to take advantage of Boston's injury woes, as several players from the Celtics side are going to the playoffs with nagging injuries.
The Celtics have far more talented players than the Pacers though, and if they figure out a way to play consistently together (which they haven't done all season), they could see themselves in the second round.
The NBA playoffs will begin on April 13th.