Schedule aiding Celtics' playoff push

By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Tuesday, March 30
Updated: March 30
11:38 AM ET

Paul Pierce is no palm reader. He can't tell your past or predict the future. He didn't turn fortune teller, either, when he said the Celtics would make it into the postseason despite the fact that when he said it, the Celtics were actually in ninth place.

He simply flipped the calender over to April and saw that his team plays only one opponent with a winning record in the final two weeks of the season.

He can read. And he can do a little math, too.

He knows that in their last game of March they'll face the Blazers in Boston and not in Portland, and that could make all the difference in the world because the Blazers are 24-13 at home and only 13-23 on the road.

He can also see that the Knicks, the team just ahead of the Celtics in the standings, not only have to play the Pacers and Nets in those last two weeks but also the Sixers in Philly and the Wizards in D.C. And that could make all the difference in the world because the former has won 20 at home compared to only 11 on the road while the latter has won 16 at home compared to only seven on the road.

So instead of just counting up road games and quality opponents to compile our strength of schedule analysis for the last two weeks of the season, we looked at each Eastern Conference playoff contender and added up its opponents' corresponding home or road records.

A look below shows that the Knicks, with only a half-game lead on the Celtics and two-game lead on the Cavs, are in much more danger of falling out of the postseason than Boston (which could very well move up to seventh place) and may have to wait until the final game of the season, an April 14 game against Cleveland in Madison Square Garden, to see who gets the eight and final seed that the Celtics currently possess.

And you don't need a Jayhawk education to see that.

Eastern Conference April Schedules
1. Detroit Pistons
Strength of Schedule: 35.40 (opponents' record: 91-166)
That sigh of relief from Motown is Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace realizing that they don't have to lug their sore backs onto an airplane until April 10 and only have to do it once more on April 13 until the end of the regular season. Their first four games of the month are not only at home but three of them are against teams with losing records. Of course, at this time of year, it's hard to tell the difference between a losing team and a playoff team in the Eastern Conference, but the Pistons get the Magic and Raptors not once but twice and the Wizards to boot. Literally. Win every one of their last eight games and they'll finish as the third seed. Lose every one of their last eight games and they'll finish as the third seed. It's getting harder and harder to convince Piston fans that anyone named Wallace should even be on a plane this time of year.

2. Boston Celtics
Strength of Schedule: 41.63 (opponents' record: 107-150)
See above.

3. New Jersey Nets
Strength of Schedule: 41.69 (opponents' record: 123-172)
Let's be honest. Does it really matter who they're playing next? The Nets' only win in the last seven games has been against the Bulls and that was only by three. Luckily for them, they're five games ahead of the Hornets and six games ahead of the Bucks and some arcane rule ahead of the Pistons for the second seed in the East. And it doesn't hurt that five of their next six games are at home and five of their next seven are against teams that probably won't be participating in the postseason. Then, again, if Richard Jefferson runs out of bullets before Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin heal up, it might not matter if they play the Cleveland, which they lost to last week, or Boston, which they lost to twice last week, or the Knicks, who they lost to the week before, in the first round with or without home-court advantage.

4. Milwaukee Bucks
Strength of Schedule: 42.40 (opponents' record: 106-144)
In the midst of their latest five-game road trip, the Bucks got bounced by the Suns, the worst team in the Western Conference, then pushed the streaking Lakers into overtime the very next night. Then, they beat up on Kings, the team with the best record in the Western Conference, before losing to the Warriors, the team with the third-worst record in the West, by nine the very next night. So who knows how they'll respond to the Pacers at the end of this month or the Nets next month. Or even the Wizards and Raptors. All we know for sure is that they're four games up on the Cavs, who they place twice down the stretch, and one game below the Hornets, who they play once.

5. Philadelphia 76ers
Strength of Schedule: 42.85 (opponents' record: 108-144)
Last week, they beat the Mavericks with Kenny Thomas leading them in scoring. They beat the Suns with Samuel Dalembert leading them in scoring. They beat the Cavaliers with John Salmons leading them in scoring. Don't think for a second that every old school coach in the country still sporting Chuck Taylors and a comb over from the pee wee level on up isn't hoping they beat the Blazers next week with Willie Green leading them in scoring. And the Knicks with Aaron McKie leading them in scoring. And the Hawks with Greg Buckner leading them in scoring. They aren't rooting for the Sixers. They're rooting for a principle. And don't think Chris Ford doesn't know that the "Interim" on his business card is the only "I" on this team. They play the Orlando Magic in their last game of the season and even if they don't qualify for the playoffs, wouldn't it be nice to beat the new two-time scoring champ while the former two-time scoring champ watches from the bench.

6. Indiana Pacers
Strength of Schedule: 44.66 (opponents' record: 113-140)
This is no longer about winning the Central Division. This is no longer about winning the Eastern Conference. The Pacers have the best record in the NBA at 54-19 and are fully aware that no Eastern team has come close to an NBA title in five years. This is about home-court advantage in the NBA Finals, which is still two long months away. Yes, they play the Pistons, the team with the second-best record in the East, down the regular-season stretch. Yes, they play the Nets, the team with the third-best record in the East, down that same stretch. But they might as well throw in the 1999 Knicks, 2000 Pacers, 2001 Sixers, 2002 and 2003 Nets while they're at it. That's what the next two weeks and the next two months are all about.

7. Cleveland Cavaliers
Strength of Schedule: 48.29 (opponents' record: 142-152)
Forget the fact that they started the season 0-5. Forget the fact that they have lost five of their last six games. Forget the fact that at one point of the season, they lost eight games in a row. Because right now, as we speak, the Cavaliers are only 1 ½ games behind the Boston Celtics for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and get to play the Bucks twice, the Heat twice and the Knicks once all between April 2 and April 14. Just in case you were wondering, those are three of the four teams currently ahead of them in the standings in fifth, sixth and seventh place, respectively.

8. Miami Heat
Strength of Schedule: 49.59 (opponents' record: 121-123)
The Heat have won eight of their last nine games and 11 of their last 13. Do you really think the Pistons in Detroit on April 2 are really going to scare them? And if not, which of the next six teams that they face, all of them with losing records, is going to keep them from going above .500 themselves. And don't kid yourself. Some of those wins came against the Magic and Wizards. But some of them also came against the Kings and Mavs. Sure, they're three games away from falling out of the playoffs all together. But they're also two games away from claiming home-court advantage in the first round.

9. New York Knicks
Strength of Schedule: 51.57 (opponents' record: 131-123)
See above.

10. New Orleans Hornets
Strength of Schedule: 56.03 (opponents' record: 144-113)
You could very well be smack dab in the middle of one of the worst collapses in NBA history. Not only have the Hornets dropped 10 of their last 15 games, but play the Lakers tonight in Los Angeles and the Jazz in Salt Lake less than 24 hours after that. And that's before April even starts. Then they get the Blazers (winners of 7 of their last 10) in Portland, the Sonics (winners of 7 of their last 8) in Seattle and the Kings (team with the best record in the entire Western Conference) in Sacramento. And to top it all off, Baron Davis hasn't played since March 23. Jamal Mashburn hasn't played since March 7. And that's before they ever even get back to New Orleans, where playoff battling Boston, Milwaukee and New York will be waiting. As we speak, the Hornets are above .500 and in the playoffs. But don't repeat it too many times before checking back in the standings.