Thanks to a season that consistently robs the Boston Celtics of full use of their roster, the lineups Brad Stevens wants to use most are the ones he’s used the least. And while most of these injuries have, thankfully, been minor (PLEASE DON’T VIEW THIS AS A JINX, BASKETBALL GODS!), they have been staggered in the most annoying of ways.
Case in point, with hopes of experimenting more with Jaylen Brown at the 2 with Crowder on the floor, Stevens lost Crowder for personal reasons and, now, Brown is going to sit out the final three games before the All Star break
Crowder rejoined the Celtics after missing the last two games due to personal reasons. He plans to play against the Mavericks, which is good because his team badly needs wing depth. In addition to the injuries for Avery Bradley (strained Achilles) and Brown (hip), Gerald Green came down with an illness and might miss Monday night’s game.
I’d also be surprised to see Avery Bradley back until after the break.
Brad Stevens says Avery Bradley is feeling about as good as he's felt, but no new sense on timetable.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) February 13, 2017
As I’ve said on a few different podcasts, my sense is that they’re just being careful, but that’s not stopping people from chirping about Bradley’s potential inclusion in a trade. It makes sense considering Bradley would be the preferred choice of a win-now team because of his calm demeanor and well-rounded game. And while I’m not saying keeping Bradley healthy for this reason ISN’T on Danny Ainge’s mind, I AM saying that’s most likely not his motivation.
Anyway, it’d be nice to see a full squad for once. It feels like it’s barely happened this season. And for Brown the injury is especially bad timing because he’s started to show some steps forward in his growth as a player.
So get ready for a whole lotta James Young tonight. C’s are going to need him to produce again if they’re going to cap off this road trip with a win. If you haven’t been paying attention to the West, Dallas has been playing pretty well lately. This will be a tough one.
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