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NBA Playoffs 2017: Boston Celtics clinch No. 1 seed in Eastern Conference

By Noah Torr

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 12: Head coach Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics is seen during the game against the Chicago Bulls on March 12, 2017 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MARCH 12: Head coach Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics is seen during the game against the Chicago Bulls on March 12, 2017 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Boston Celtics have officially clinched the No. 1 seed tonight.

The Celtics are the No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs. It was between them and the Cavaliers, and after tonight the winner has been decided.

The Cavaliers lost to the Toronto Raptors tonight, 98-83, but the one caveat was that the Cavs’ Big 3, LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving, did not play tonight. Cleveland basically gave up the 1-seed to the Celtics when they decided to rest their big stars, and that’s okay.

Boston got a big win tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks. The final score was 112-92 in the Celtics’ favor. The Bucks did not play Matthew Dellavadova, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tony Snell, and Khris Middleton tonight, which aided the Celtics in acquiring the win tonight.

The Celtics will be the 1-seed, Cavaliers the 2, and Raptors are the 3.

Going into the season, the Cavaliers were the clear favorite to come out on top of the Eastern Conference, but as the season went on things started to go in the Celtics favor. Isaiah Thomas continued to stun all of the Celtics’ opponents, Brad Stevens kept coaching his guys to the best of his abilities, and the Cavaliers couldn’t stop losing easy games.

The two concerns for the Cavaliers going into the playoffs are LeBron’s minutes and their defense. Tyronn Lue has been questioned about his rotation this season because of how many minutes LeBron has been playing. The older LeBron gets, the fewer minutes he should be playing.

The defense is still a question mark for the Cavaliers too. They brought in Andrew Bogut to be their rim protector off of the bench, but he only lasted one minute. Tristan Thompson is still the only rim protector on the team which causes problems when Channing Frye, their backup center, enters the game. Frye can shoot 3s, and that is about the extent of his abilities.

Next: 5 most memorable moments from the season

The Celtics will play the struggling Chicago Bulls in their first-round playoff matchup. The Bulls have been scraping along all season and I doubt that they will make it past the first round, especially since they have to go through the tough Celtics.

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