C’s preach caution

NBA. Hold the rolling rally.

When the Celtics became the first team in the NBA to clinch a playoff spot with their win over the Pistons on Wednesday, head coach Doc Rivers was brutally and sarcastically honest.

“That’s nice,” Rivers said about the playoff berth, “but last year, there would have been a parade.”

True enough. The Celtics won their league-high 47th game Wednesday and can double last year’s win total Friday if they can beat the Bulls. The C’s also clinched the season series with the Pistons and are five games ahead of Detroit in the loss column.

So while clinching a postseason spot for the first time in three years is worth a pat on the back, the Celtics really sealed that deal when they traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen last summer.

The C’s ultimately took more pride in defending the parquet against the Pistons than earning a playoff berth that was a mere formality.

“This is a big game for us,” Garnett said. “It was just a big game. It had everything written around it. It was a huge game, a huge game for us.

“We know that the Eastern Conference is going to be won by [one of] three teams [including Boston, Detroit and Cleveland], and this is one of them. Statement? You can say that. But it was an important game for us.”