Celtics have 3 ways to clinch a playoff spot in latest scenarios originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Boston Celtics obviously want more than to simply clinch a playoff spot. They want to finish as high up the Eastern Conference standings as possible.

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But the first step is clinching that position in the postseason. They can do that on Sunday.

The NBA released the official clinching scenarios Sunday morning, and there are actually three ways for the Celtics to make it happen just on this day.

Celtics playoff clinching scenarios

The Celtics have one really simple way to clinch a playoff berth on Sunday: win.

If the Celtics beat the Hornets, they’re into the postseason.

They also would get in for sure if the Toronto Raptors lose to the Orlando Magic.

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The third possibility? If the New York Knicks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, that actually also clinches a playoff berth for the Celtics.

Clearly, with multiple weeks left in the regular season, there’s plenty of time for Boston to get this done.

But the Celtics definitely can take care of this bit of business on Sunday, and they control their own destiny in a major way down the stretch of the season.

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