ESPN decides the Celtics are finally worth televising
Locked in a tight battle for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics are about to appear on mainstream national television for the first time all season:
ESPN picks up the April 8 #Celtics -#Pistons game and changes time to 7 p.m. drops #Raptors-#Hornets
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) March 30, 2015
Boston has not been on ABC, ESPN or TNT all year. The C's had one ESPN game scheduled (against the Hawks on January 14), but it was bumped for Bulls-Wizards.
NBA TV is also showing a renewed interest in the Celtics, picking up Boston vs. Indiana on Wednesday:
The April 1 #pacers-#celtics game at TD Garden will be televised by NBA TV. The #nets-#knicks game gets dropped.
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) March 24, 2015
It's the second Celtics-Pacers matchup NBA TV has added in less than a month. Both teams are currently tied for ninth place in the East at 32-41, half a game behind Brooklyn (32-40).
ESPN's choice is somewhat confusing--Detroit (28-45) is all but eliminated from postseason contention, so Toronto (43-30) vs. Charlotte (31-41) on April 8 appears to be a much better game than Celtics-Pistons. Boston takes on the Hornets tonight, I'm surprised ESPN didn't at least wait to see who wins before making their decision (a home victory would put Charlotte half a game ahead of the C's and give it the head-to-head tiebreaker).
I guess it's nice to know the Celtics being the Celtics still matters.
Follow Mark Vandeusen on Twitter @LucidSportsFan