How Celtics can still advance as wild card in NBA Cup

The Boston Celtics can still punch their ticket to the knockout stage of the 2024 NBA Cup on Tuesday night despite not winning their group.

Boston can advance in the tournament as a wild card team. Wild card berths are awarded to the non-group winners with the highest point differentials in each conference.

The Celtics notched a +23 point differential while going 3-1 across their four Group Play games. That’s the fourth-best point differential in the East behind the Orlando Magic (+60), Milwaukee Bucks (+29), and Detroit Pistons (+28). The New York Knicks are +15 with one Group Play game remaining.

Two NBA Cup games will determine Boston’s fate on Tuesday night: Bucks-Pistons at 7 p.m. ET and Magic-Knicks at 7:30 p.m.

While the NBA Cup format can be complicated, the Celtics’ scenarios to advance as a wild card are pretty simple. Here’s what to watch for in Tuesday night’s matchups:

Bucks at Pistons

The Celtics need the Bucks to win by at least six points OR the Pistons to win by at least seven points. Either result would give Boston the point differential advantage over Milwaukee and Detroit.

Magic at Knicks

The Celtics need the Magic to win outright OR the Knicks to win by at least 38 points.

Basically, C’s fans should be rooting for an Orlando win and either the Bucks or Pistons to win their game handily. That’s the most probable, stress-free path to the knockout round.

If the Celtics advance, they’d play quarterfinal game on the road on either Dec. 10 or Dec. 11. If they don’t advance, they’d play a regular-season game on Dec. 12 or Dec. 13.

Boston will be focused on the Bucks-Pistons and Magic-Knicks matchups as the team has Tuesday night off. The reigning NBA champions will return to action Wednesday night when they welcome the Pistons to TD Garden.