Eastern Conference top 4 preview for the rest of the regular season

Paul Rutherford/ USA Today
As the NBA season heads towards the conclusion of the 2022-23 regular season, there are still some stories left to be written. Who will end up with the top seed? Who will get a top 6 seed and avoid the play-in tournament? With 23 games remaining, Boston currently holds a .5 game lead on Milwaukee for the top spot, with Philly and Cleveland following closely behind.
Boston and Milwaukee have split their season series 1-1 to this point, with the final regular season matchup taking place on March 30th in Milwaukee. In case of a tiebreaker, this game could prove to be crucial for both teams. In the case of Philadelphia, they still have to play Boston and Milwaukee twice each. This plays a major factor in Philly having the hardest remaining schedule in the entire Association. Looking at the top 4 teams, Boston and Milwaukee practically have the same strength of schedule for the rest of the regular season. However, with Giannis battling a little bit of a wrist injury, the Celtics need to take advantage by winning a few in a row out of the break and hope the Bucks lose a game or two so that Boston can stretch their lead. In the 76ers case, they'll have to battle through a gauntlet the rest of the season to try and protect their top 3 seed. With Cleveland having one of the easiest remaining schedules, I wouldn't be surprised if they threaten Philly for the 3. Looking at all of this data and analyzing it, it seems like the Celtics and Bucks are in the drivers seat to both recieve a top 2 seed. For the 76ers and Cavs, despite the 2 game lead that Philly currently holds over 4th placed Cleveland, I expect the Cavs to finish in the number 3 spot, pushing the 76ers back to the 4. As a result, that would theoretically create a Celtics-76ers ECSF series if Boston can retain the top spot. We all know how that rivalry goes.
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Celtics diehard who enjoys basketball, golf, and hanging out with my family