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Should the Celtics Prioritize Rest Over Their Pursuit of the One Seed? Joe Mazzulla Weighs in
Sunday night's 131-129 double-overtime loss to the Knicks, who took the season series from the Celtics 3-1, could have lasting ramifications for Boston.
Jayson Tatum registered a game-high 40 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished out six assists, matching Al Horford for the most on the team. However, he had his knee examined by the training staff during the third quarter and logged 49 minutes.
Marcus Smart, who scored 13 points, distributed four assists, and had three rebounds, took a hard fall in the first half after contesting a Julius Randle layup. He only played 5:09 in the second quarter and looked stiff while trying to get up and down the court at times.
Al Horford, who stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, matched Mitchell Robinson for a team-high 14 rebounds, had the previously mentioned six assists, and had two blocks and a steal, played 46 minutes. At least for his sake, Horford doesn't play in the second half of back-to-backs.
But Boston's already without Robert Williams, dealing with a left hamstring strain expected to sideline him seven-to-ten days. And Malcolm Brogdon's missed the last two games because of right ankle soreness.
Even if he returns for Monday's matchup in Cleveland, the Celtics are entering that game at a disadvantage against a Cavaliers team that had Sunday off after a home win vs. the Pistons Saturday.
That's not to say the outcome is predetermined, but they're already 1.5 games behind the Bucks, and they're staring down the possibility of being 2.5 back after Milwaukee plays the Magic Tuesday.
After Monday's tilt in Cleveland, Boston has 16 games left on its schedule. The Celtics and Bucks meet again on Mar. 30, and Milwaukee plays in Indiana the night before.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and co. also have three-straight road games against the Warriors, Kings, and Suns. And they face the Nuggets in Denver on Mar. 27. Perhaps, the Celtics should continue aggressively pursuing the one seed.
After all, it's important to be playing their best ball entering the playoffs, and while they must wait on Williams' return, the starting lineup has to knock the rust off.
They've shared the court for only ten games this season, logging 81 minutes together, generating a 106.7 offensive rating, allowing 119 points per 100 possessions, and they have a -12.4 net rating, per NBA.com.
When asked how Boston will handle the rest of the regular season, Joe Mazzulla expressed the following.
"The only thing you can control is (to) try to win the games, and so, we put ourselves in the best possible chance to win, but zero concern. Just because there are 17 games left doesn't mean that there's any different than how a stretch of the season would go.
"And you obviously want to be playing your best basketball later in the season as you get closer to the playoffs, but this is a tough stretch, and whatever this stretch has, we have to learn from it so that we can use it later in the year."
Further Reading
Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Loss vs. Knicks: Is it Time for a Priority Shift?
Joe Mazzulla Shares His Perspective on the Roots of the Celtics' Collapse vs. Nets
A Top Celtics Free-Agent Target Signs Elsewhere, Where Does Boston Go from Here?
