The Boston Celtics get set to take on the Charlotte Hornets Friday night inside the famed TD Garden in Boston, MA. The Celtics have locked up the Atlantic Division and, more importantly, earned the top seed in the East, while the Hornets can not finish up the season fast enough. Boston now has its sights on not only winning the East but getting back to the NBA Finals and winning it. 

The Celtics (62-17) have been the best team in the league all season long, and they just locked up the top seed in the Eastern Conference, which means the road to the NBA Finals goes through them in the East.

They know they can now rest some players if they want to because they were able to run away with the Atlantic Division so quickly. They ran away with the division, and to show you just how good they are, New York is 15 games out of first place. The Celtics could have put it on cruise control and still won the division by ten-plus games. 

They might rest some of their star players, but even if they do, they are still good enough to beat a horrible Hornets team that is looking to just get to the finish line. The Celtics are an incredible 35-3 at home this season, which is amazing when you really take a moment and think about it. Boston should roll in this game. 

The Hornets (20-60) are just playing out the string and are clearly in a rebuilding stage as they have limped to the finish line of another disappointing season. They have many questions that need to be asked and answered during the off-season, and the first one will be, who can they build this team around? They are a horrible road team, as they have compiled a mark of 9-30, which is one of the worst in the league. 

The Hornets have endured such a rough season that even winning a game or two to close out the campaign would be a massive step in the right direction. The reality is that this team needs a ton of work, some depth, and a couple more scorers. 

They will look for Miles Bridges to carry the offensive load, as he is averaging around 21 points per game and has had some excellent games against Boston in his career. He has netted 20 a game against the Celtics. 

Boston is 4-1 in its last five games and 2-3 in their previous five games against the spread. They are also 19-19 in their road games against the spread. The totals have gone over in three out of the Celtics' last five games. The Hornets are 2-3 in their previous five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the spread. They are 14-25 in their road games against the spread. The totals have gone over in four out of their last five games.