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The Eastern Conference playoffs have been insane to start. It’s been over a week since the playoffs began, and none of the first-round series have finished. The Boston Celtics have not only participated in this madness but, one could argue, are responsible for it. Luka Garza’s clutch three-pointer in their regular season finale win vs. the Orlando Magic<\/a> set the course for ensuing madness.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For anyone who wants a recap, the Celtics beat the Magic in the last game of the regular season because Garza hit the go-ahead three in the game’s closing seconds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “A DIFFERENT KIND OF LUKA MAGIC!”<\/p>\n Luka Garza in the clutch, Mark Jones on the call 🔥 pic.twitter.com\/DRwhGPfkSy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 ESPN (@espn) April 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n <\/p>\n Doing so drastically altered the playoff picture in the East. Had the Celtics lost, the Magic would have had the No. 7 seed (still in the play-in) while the Atlanta Hawks would have gotten the No. 5 seed (to face Cleveland), and the Toronto Raptors would have gotten the No. 6 seed (to face New York).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There’s no telling how those series would have played out, but thanks to Garza’s three, all four first-round series in the East are going to six games minimum. The last time this happened was 23 years ago. Coincidentally enough, the Celtics were involved in that too.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n All four East first-round series will last at least six games.<\/p>\n Fourth time since 2003 (start of best-of-seven first round) that every first-round series in a conference will last at least six games.<\/p>\n First time in any conference since 2014. First time in the East since 2003. pic.twitter.com\/rjGx6rTxdb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 30, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n <\/p>\n For all we know, the pandemonium will all end in Game 6, but even so, Garza helping the Celtics win a game that would have had no affect on their final standing has had great effect on how everything has gone thus far.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n By beating the Magic, the Celtics gave the Philadelphia 76ers homecourt advantage in their play-in matchup between the two teams. The Sixers ran away with that one, setting up their fourth matchup in the Joel Embiid-Jayson Tatum rivalry spanning back to 2018.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Magic have been surprisingly resilient after their outlook looked pretty bleak following their loss to the Celtics B-Team and getting blown out by the Sixers. Suddenly, they’re one win away from being among the very few No. 8 seeds to triumph over the No. 1.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As for the Sixers, they have not been all that easy to put down. The Celtics have blown them out twice, but in one of their wins, they just barely scraped by, and their two losses have been at home. It’s been kind of a topsy-turvy series, lowlighted by a pretty frustrating Game 5 loss<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For that same reason, one can only wonder where Boston would be if they faced Orlando, a team that never beat them all regular season. If the Celtics finish off the Sixers either tonight or in Game 7, they’ll gladly take it, but times like these should make one wonder what could have been if the Celtics faced the team they beat with their back-ups.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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This did affect who the Celtics faced in the first round<\/h2>\n