The Celtics have five games remaining, four of which are at home. They need to treat every one of these games like they are playoff games. At 45-32, the Celtics are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference. The Miami Heat have the same record but the Celtics own the tie breaker. Both teams are chasing the Hawks for the third seed. Atlanta currently holds a one game lead over both teams. 

The good news for the Celtics is, they play both the Hawks and the Heat in the next week. That means they could either leapfrog Atlanta into third with a win against the Hawks on Friday night or at the very least, they can lock up the fourth seed by winning four of their last five games. Either way, the Celtics are in prime position to host a playoff series.

In order to do that, they need to be consistent on offense and they must play championship caliber defense. If they do those two things, they’ll position themselves to lock up a top five seed. Momentum is key heading into the playoffs. If the Celtics treat these five games like playoffs, they’ll be in good shape come playoff time.