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Scramble for East seeds leaves Heat’s Erik Spoelstra, opposing coaches with mixed messaging

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The momentum swings in the race among the top four seeds at the Eastern Conference seemingly come in 48-minute increments.

Tuesday night, it was the drama of the Bucks’ victory over the 76ers. Wednesday night, Heat at Celtics. And on it will go until the April 10 close of the regular season, seedings seemingly changing by the hour.

And yet for those involved, and it’s as if seedings are secondary to health, rest, and perhaps even potential opening round matchups.

That latter element, of course, goes unspoken.

But what has been spoken is that with the conference so competitive no singular seeding comes with a clear path to success.

So, instead, the conversation has been somewhat muted, no one flexing “We’re No. 1!” when it is their turn at the top of the standings.

“More from that standpoint,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, “it’s you want to be playing good basketball. You want to feel like you’re improving and you’re addressing things that need to be addressed.”

Still, that doesn’t mean he was downplaying moments such as Wednesday night’s game against the Celtics at TD Garden.

“Then there’s the competitive aspect for it, about it, that it’s always good to compete for something,” Spoelstra said. “It’s not the end-all, be-all. But it’s a really competitive race in the East and this is what you always want.”

So significant games it will be, likely through closing night, when the Heat play April 10 against the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center.

“You want to have the games have meaning and context and significance to ‘em,” Spoelstra said. “And that’s basically every game right now in the Eastern Conference. That makes it very compelling.”

For their part, while now dealing with the knee injury that has sidelined emerging center Robert Williams, the Celtics have greater concerns than their place in the standings, having previously clinched the head-to-head season-series tiebreaker against the Heat.

“It’s too much closeness to try to maneuver and manipulate things to pick an opponent,” Celtic coach Ime Udoka said earlier this week. “As far as resting, that’s the main thing. We’ve got some guys who got some nicks now and we have to be smart about it. If we can get guys one [game off] is what we’re looking at now.”

So no, Udoka said, not about maneuvering for a seed, but rather preparing for the potential grueling road ahead.

“I think teams always, to some extent, try to control something if they can,” he said. “We’re more worried about health and trying to play the right way and continue to do what we’re doing and kind of see where the chips fall as far as that.”

Still, he also recognizes what has been going on for years.

“As far back as I’ve gone as a player and coach,” the veteran of seven seasons as a player said, “teams have always tried to manipulate what they can and figure out what’s in their favor.”

Coaches, of course, just don’t address the specifics.

“I really don’t look at the standings,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said ahead of his team’s most recent game in Miami. “What do they matter? You have to win. And I swear to God, after 82, someone’s going to tap me and say, ‘This is who you’re playing.’

“You can only control what you can control. The other stuff is for everyone else to talk about.”

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said the closing games of the regular season is a time to look within.

“Each year has its own unique situations and circumstances,” he said. “But I think to have the team as healthy as possible is something that is very important. Layered into healthy is maybe, if possible, having not worn down, mentally or physically, [players].”

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