BOSTON – It’s not the way they envisioned entering the playoffs.
One All-Star gone five minutes into the season opener. Another All-Star gone for the year after just 60 games. An emotional leader still weeks away from returning to game action. A valuable role player hobbling behind the bench on crutches a few weeks removed from season-ending meniscus surgery. [...]
BOSTON – It’s not the way they envisioned entering the playoffs.
One All-Star gone five minutes into the season opener. Another All-Star gone for the year after just 60 games. An emotional leader still weeks away from returning to game action. A valuable role player hobbling behind the bench on crutches a few weeks removed from season-ending meniscus surgery.
A Celtics team that had the makings of a title contender in preseason is now in the position of having to make believers out of those who view a squad without Gordon Hayward, without Kyrie Irving, without Marcus Smart, and without Daniel Theis, as a No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference in name only. The 11 healthy players who remain when Boston opens its first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks Sunday at 1 p.m. at TD Garden will look to show that a cast with one surviving All-Star in Al Horford, a collection of young talent being asked to shoulder a burden beyond its years, and an array of discounted veterans can still make an extended postseason run.
“For as much as we’ve been through this season,” said seventh-year forward Marcus Morris following Wednesday’s 110-97 victory against the Brooklyn Nets in the regular season finale, “that says a lot about this team. The younger guys stepped up. A lot of them don’t get credit.
“As a whole, we’ve had a great year. We’ve been closer together. I think the injuries, and things like that, brought us closer together as a tight-knit group.”
The Celtics will line up to start the playoffs with a third-year point guard in Terry Rozier, who had never started an NBA game as of three months ago, a second-year guard in Jaylen Brown, who was not in the rotation to start last year’s playoffs, a rookie small forward in Jayson Tatum and a veteran frontcourt. Boston won’t have the luxury of putting the ball in the hands of a star such as Irving and letting him do his thing the way he’s done so often before on the big stage. The Celtics will need the youth – some of whom have dipped their toes on that stage, and some who have yet to be in its presence – to make that stage their own on both ends of the court.
“They’ve been getting better every single time they step out on the floor,” said grizzled center Aron Baynes after his 26-point, 14-rebound effort Wednesday night. “They are getting more comfortable. The biggest thing has been their defensive improvement over the course of the season. They have been locked in over the last few games. Jaylen was great with his defensive coverages, and what he needed to do. JT has been solid all season, and is still getting better.
“It’s great to see those guys are taking pride in their defense.”
The Celtics will open the playoffs against a Milwaukee team that – for all its flaws and inconsistencies – does that have that singular superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo, who averaged 26.9 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists this season.
“It’s going to be a team effort,” Baynes said of defending the celebrated Greek Freak. “It’s not one man’s job. It’s a full five men on a string. We’ve got to all be playing defense and build from that.
“He’s very talented. A great player. We’re going to have to try to lock in and do the job collectively on him.”
Morris vowed he is “super locked in” as he looks forward to only the second playoff appearance in his career. Like a handful of other Celtics amid the injuries, he’s gone from being a role player to a focal point of the team, while others have gone from being bit players into significant parts of the rotation.
Yet, when asked last weekend about teams viewing the Celtics as an easy mark given the shorthanded state of their roster, he responded defiantly: “I hope so. I really do.”
It’s not the Celtics team entering the playoffs they hoped for, or planned to have. But it’s the one they’ve got. And it’s been the way they’ve gotten here that has them confident they are not going away anytime soon.
“I’ve learned a lot about this team,” Morris said. “We’ve had a lot of guys who have stepped up to bigger roles.
"Everyone exceeded expectations.”