Both NBA play-in games tomorrow night will take place in the Eastern Conference with the final game of the night being the most anticipated Eastern Conference play-in game featuring 8-seed Washington Wizards and the 7-seed Boston Celtics.
Unlike the 9-10 matchup between the Pacers and Hornets, the loser of this game between the Celtics and Wizards is not immediately eliminated from postseason contention, but they will face off with the winner of the 9/10 matchup to see who will be the 8-seed in the playoffs.
READ MORE: NBA Rumors: Why the Wizards should keep their Beal-Westbrook duo intact long-term
Both the Celtics and the Wizards want to avoid having to play an extra game in the play-in tournament, which is why this matchup is going to be very intriguing and has the potential to be a very high scoring affair.
Since the All-Star break, the Washington Wizards have been one of the hottest teams in the league and since the start of April, the Wizards have gone 17-9. Both Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal have been sensational for this team this season, which is why they have a strong chance to do something special in the playoffs.
On the other side of things, the Boston Celtics have struggled all season long and now without Jaylen Brown, they will have to rely solely on Jayson Tatum to carry the load for this team. Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart and Evan Fournier will also need to step up into a bigger role, but if Tatum does not have a good game tomorrow night, there is no hope for the Celtics in this one!
With that said, let’s take a look at four bold predictions for tomorrow night’s Wizards-Celtics game, including who I see coming out on top in this one, claiming the 7-seed in the Eastern Conference and a date with the Brooklyn Nets.
Bradley Beal puts the Wizards on his back:
Bradley Beal came up just short of beating Stephen Curry for the scoring title this year, but all season long, Beal has been one of the league’s most dangerous scorers. The Celtics should know this too because in three games against Boston this season, Beal scored 41, 35 and 46 points respectively.
READ MORE: NBA Rumors: Why the Wizards should keep their Beal-Westbrook duo intact long-term
In three games against the Celtics this year, Beal averaged 40.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and shot 55.2% from the floor, 45.8% from three-point range. Bradley Beal has dominated the Celtics this season and this narrative should not change tomorrow night.
Expect to see Bradley Beal get off to another fast start against the Boston Celtics, especially since they will be without one of their best perimeter defenders in Jaylen Brown. Marcus Smart will likely play tomorrow, but overall, nobody has been able to stop Beal this season, especially the Celtics.
It won’t come easy for Beal when considering he has been playing through injury. However, this is the time of year when star players persevere through the pain to hopefully lead their team to a lengthy playoff run.
