The rest of the West matchups weren’t determined until the final hours of the regular season. Big man, Kelly Olynyk, had his shoulder dinged and played just 12 minutes. “I can honestly say we were semi-caught off guard because the first five minutes of Game 1 past year in Cleveland, those guys were all in our chest”, Sullinger explained. The team committed to small ball for the majority of Game 1, but the team’s depth chart takes a serious hit on that front with Bradley out of the fold. Hunter logged three minutes of playing time during the first half of Game 1.
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So the Celtics will need other players to pick up the slack.
Rozier said a similar coming-of-age moment happened when he was in high school as well. However, things just got a lot tougher for the Celtics the rest of the way in this series.
“We’ll have to decide whether we’ll go with some of those young guys and go deep into the (bench) and play four smalls again, or if we’re gonna play more traditional again and go back to playing that way”, Stevens said. We know we really have to pull together. “These next few days are very important”.
Bradley said he felt a pop landing after a block attempt, then moments later he struggled to move laterally and committed a foul before hobbling to the sidelines. Bradley is Boston’s best perimeter defender (opponents s 2.5 percent worse when defended by Bradley, per SportVU) and their best three-point shooter (36.1 percent) at the wing position. They went on a 49-29 run into the fourth quarter to take the three-point advantage.
Stevens has expressed confidence that both players will eventually knock down shots. Those are the shots that were most available and most open, and as you go back and watch it that was clearly the case.
When Avery Bradley is on the floor, there’s always at least one set of eyes on him at all times. “Pain tolerance, all that stuff, I kind of know what I can deal with on the court”. “We’ll see”, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said Saturday on the eve of his team’s first-round series with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Added Rozier: “It clicked in my mind, right from [Bradley’s injury], that my opportunity is here”. “I would call it a lot more responsibility”.
Bradley, obviously, has holes in his game.
But maybe, just maybe, that game can provide clues. I was so locked into what I had to do. The team that forces the most mistakes will have a big edge in the series.
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“Absolutely. I’ve been comfortable for a while now”, he said. I’m comfortable. I’ve been to the playoffs two years. Paul Millsap is averaging 14 points and seven rebounds while Jeff Teague is averaging 23 points and 12 assists. Which team has more pressure on them and most importantly, who wins this game tonight and why?
