Bad news for tank fans, the Celtics are currently out of the lottery

Last night Jeff Green scored a season high for the second straight game (31 yesterday, 26 on Wednesday), Avery Bradley went 9-11 from the field (21 points), and Jordan Crawford did his best Rajon Rondo impression, posting a triple double with 11 points, 10 assists, and 11 rebounds.  The 103-86 wire-to-wire win over the Cavs gave the Celtics a 7-11 record, good for 8th place in the East.

Boston was the only Atlantic Division team to earn a victory on Friday, with the Knicks dumping their 8th straight to slip to 3-12, and the Nets falling to 4-12 after their 7th defeat in 8 games.  Losses by Toronto (6-9) and Philly (6-11) left the Celtics 2nd in the division, just half a game behind the Raptors.  A win in Milwaukee tonight (the Bucks are in the midst of an 11 game losing streak and owners of the NBA's second worst record at 2-13) would put the C's (4-6 on the road) alone in 1st place, percentage points ahead of Toronto and in line for the 4th seed in the playoffs.

While it's still very early, it's unlikely Boston is going to drop out of postseason contention in the pathetic Eastern Conference any time soon.  The Celtics play 9 of their next 13 at home, and 8 of those 13 are against teams with losing records.


Follow Mark Vandeusen on twitter @LucidSportsFan