The Celtics’ NBA Cup chances are very good, but they will need some help on Tuesday night to advance to the knockout rounds after defeating the Bulls on Saturday. Boston finished pool play in Group C with a 3-1 record after a 138:129 victory over Chicago and thus took first place in Group C with the Hawks. However, the Hawks won the direct duel with Boston, so they win the tiebreaker to advance to the knockout rounds as Group C winners.

However, the door remains open for the Celtics to advance to the knockout rounds as the Eastern Conference wild card. Boston’s chances of advancing depend on points difference, just like last season when the team advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament as a wild card.

This time, the Celtics will not be in action on the final night of NBA Cup pool play, leaving their fate dependent on the results of two separate games. Here are the scenarios to watch out for and how the Celtics can advance to the next round.

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The Celtics will advance to the NBA Cup knockout rounds as a wild card in one of these two scenarios:

• Magic beat the Knicks and the Bucks beat the Pistons by at least five points.
• Magic defeated the Knicks and Pistons beat the Bucks by six points.

Here’s a look at the current teams still in play for a wildcard spot, along with their point differentials:

Magic 3-0 +60

Bucks 3-0 +29

Pistons 3-0 +28

Knicks 3-0 +15

Celtics 3-1 +23

Remaining key NBA Cup games on Tuesday: Magic to the Knicks, Bucks to the Pistons (the Celtics are done with pool play)

Analysis: When it comes to the Celtics, the math for Tuesday night’s Magic-Knicks game is a bit simple. The 3-0 Magic have a huge advantage (+60) in point differential over other East teams in the NBA Cup, so a loss to New York still gives them a tiebreaker lead over Boston and everyone else at 3-1. would provide teams. Barring a gigantic defeat by the Knicks (over 37 points) against the Magic, the Celtics need the Magic to beat the Knicks at MSG to have any chance of advancing.

The other interesting scenario involves the Bucks-Pistons tilt. Both teams have a similar points difference to Boston, so a narrow win for both teams in a direct duel on Tuesday would not help the Celtics. Instead, the Celtics will need one of those teams to win at least five (Bucks) or six (Pistons) points along with the Magic’s win to secure a spot as one of the final eight teams to advance in the NBA Cup.

The Celtics could have increased their chances of advancing with a bigger win over the Bulls on Saturday night. However, with the win they were able to stay alive and are now looking for some manageable help to progress on Tuesday evening.