2021 NBA Playoffs: Wizards to face Celtics in the upper half of the play-in tournament

The Washington Wizards earned the No. 8 seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. With the regular season now out of the way, the Wizards will face the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, May 18. The game will be on at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.

And yes, the first three words of the title are intentional.

Washington’s run to the play-in tournament has been impressive. They were just 17-32 after a 103-101 loss to the Toronto Raptors on April 5. But since then, Washington went 12-2 in their remaining April games and have looked very competitive even during some close losses in May. In short, the Wizards will not be an easy out for any of the other teams in the play-in tournament.

The No. 8 seed also gives the Wizards some breathing room for their Round of 16 playoff hopes. If they lose to the Celtics on Tuesday, Washington will still have one more chance vs. the winner of the Eastern Conference’s No. 9 vs. No. 10 seed game between the Indiana Pacers and Charlotte Hornets.

And if the Wizards win, they will earn the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs where they will face off against the Brooklyn Nets, the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, despite being No. 8 in the standings. Furthermore, the Wizards defeated the Nets, 2-1 in their regular season series so there’s a lot of motivation for Washington to win Tuesday than simply beating Boston.

GO WIZARDS!