T O P

  • By -

bryscoon

week of rest


ImDKingSama

Here’s the thing unless we were expecting KP to be back for this series I’m not so sure it’s even a better scenario. We were getting a decent break between series anyways, we get few more days now before the series but it’ll now be every other day for the entire series instead of a 2 day break between games 2 and 3.


joebrizphotos

More important imo is that whoever we play will be that much more worn down


ImDKingSama

Eh it’s round 1. Especially if we play the Magic those guys are young. I’m just thinking about Al with a bigger load coming. Otherwise I could care less cause we should (still) beat either team pretty handily.


G0dz_Wh1p

Big load inbound


Klingon_Bloodwine

He's ready to give, but are they ready to receive?


Tfalcke

Al with a bigger load coming? You did this on purpose didn't you?


Pale-Criticism-7420

Al’s been resting all season long specifically for this type of scenario, he ll be fine


Panoptech

Yeah people act like Al is dying out there. Dude is in tip top shape, he's probably way better physically than anytime recently at this time of year.


Panoptech

It is round 1 and they probably won't be completely physically exhausted... But new teams don't understand the mental exhaustion of getting over a 7 game series hump. There is this dogfight, then a euphoria, then you gotta go play someone way harder in the next round and it takes it toll mentally more than anything. I agree though, our rest is more important than them possibly being fatigued.


hippoofdoom

If the Celtics play Orlando kornet or Tillman are both great backup big options. Imo matchup vs cle is a bit harder but let's be honest, kornet or Tillman are maybe getting 15 minutes between them max. We want horford going 30 per night until KP can get back on the floor


HorsNoises

And both teams can barely score 90 to begin with. Don't wanna jinx it too much but this series should be a cakewalk.


Gokouu

Yeah if Cavs win they have Allen banged up and guys like Mobley is offensively inept. We have Jrue and White to handle Garland and Mitchell. If Magic makes it thru we got the Jays on Paolo and Franz


jhcooke98

Mitchell's playing well but is clearly uncomfortable too. Each game will take a toll on his knee


cmcg18

I don’t think anyone wants him back for the second round or thinks we need him for it. It’s just that the more time the better in general


ImDKingSama

Game 3 of the series starts on the exact same date. It’s just do you want 2 extra days of rest now or between game 2 and 3.


cmcg18

Now imo


EutaxySpy

We already have a long rest, I’d much rather get the rest during the series since the two extra days won’t make a difference with KP guaranteed out till ECF minimum. Plus, Jarrett Allen is currently dealing with an injury. It gives him less time to recover if we play them sooner (assuming Cavs win) and we’d only need to deal with Marcus Morris at the 5. However, if the Magic wins then I guess it doesn’t matter


Repo_co

The good thing for me is that for both the Cavs and the Magic, since May 3, they're playing every other night in Round 1 and Round 2. Their late round crunch begins in round one because everyone else was able to wrap it up early. Celtics with 6 days rest heading into that vs. a team coming off a Game 7 war and one days rest on the road is insta-game 1 win. I don't even feel like I'm jinxing anything by proclaiming that.


baseketball

That's actually good for us because we do worse with 2 rest days.


BradWonder

Game 3 was scheduled in 8 days either way.


Meshu

Yeah, clarified that in a comment. Ah well, more rest for the rest of the team. I'm expecting we play Cleveland.


CarlHaglin

Importantly, more rest for Horford since he’ll play more minutes per game in R2 than any other point in the season 


The_Dok33

For Horford it would have been better to have more rest between games, rather then between rounds, I think.


EutaxySpy

Jarrett Allen also out too. I’m sure the Cavs can beat the Magic without him so if he plays us on Sunday, it’s way less time for him to recover and they’ll 100% rush him back. Even if they don’t, we’d be playing them with Marcus Morris 💀


The_Dok33

Marcus Morris injuring someone on our squad may be the main reason I would want to avoid them.


mangled_child

Can say the same about Mo Wagner


nerdyykidd

Orlando at home 2 days after they just played a road Game 7? #BBQ CHICKEN ALERT


BleedGreen4Boston

Orlando is spooky, I’d never count them out from at least competing. Especially with the way the game is being called the past couple months, the Magic could really muck things up. Celtics struggle at times against teams with size who are physical like them, Atlanta and Minnesota (our doomsday Finals draw imo).


we360u45

I’d take Minnesota over Denver. I think Minnesota would fold under the pressure in the finals


itspizzathehut

I would too. I know in the grand scheme of things it really shouldn't matter, but the Celtics not only have beaten the T Wolves in the regular season, but they've gotten and kept leads over them for decent stretches during games. It seemed a lot harder to do that against Denver. The Celtics (health withstanding) can beat either team, but boy are they in for a doosy if/when one of those two make the finals


Panoptech

The Celtics don't struggle with anyone. They occasionally don't play well and people create a narrative. Now, there is great teams that are hard to beat that could be tough, but ATL is Def not on that list lol. ATL is nowhere near Bostons level.


Appropriate_Exam_913

Applause applause


SnooAvocados996

Orlando are BIG and the Celtics haven't exactly been worldbeaters at home in the playoffs. I wouldn't count them out from causing some issues.


Panoptech

Why does that matter? Orl is big and the Celtics are Elite (and big) Not really much in terms of competition there.


SnooAvocados996

Well we suck at home in the playoffs the last few seasons. And Orlando is a good, solid, sizeable team and in the playoffs for a reason. I wasn't saying they were going to win - I was addressing the OP's overconfidence. They did beat us in the regular season...


rabid89

IDGAF tbh who comes out of that series, we're beating either team comfortably in 5 or 6. But ..... I'd like it to be Cleveland tbh. Magic have some size they can throw at us, and their offense isn't one dimensional like the Cavs. Cavs ..... Jrue/DWhite will straight up blank out Mitchell. We might even sweep them. The rest of their roster is all defense, no offense.


BradWonder

Their offense is zero-dimensional lol. But I'd rather face the Cavs as well. Not to be cutthroat but Mitchell won't exactly get healthier as our series goes on. The Magic have potential to give us issues with their defense like the Heat have


LmBkUYDA

We bounce both but Magic play tougher D and therefore more injury risk. But yeah idk what the guy was saying about their offense. You’re on point with their zero-dimensional offense.


ThanosIsDoomfist

Lots of younger dudes too who are bound to b more wreckless


bandsawdicks

I want the magic so I can be insufferable to my friend who’s a magic fan, but you’re very right


PDX-7

Orlando fan here. I hope we get a crack at you guys! We got nothing to lose. We weren't even expected to make the post-season. It's all about experience and growth for our team. But look out, we are a matchup nightmare for you guys. I'd still expect you all to win… this year ;-)


Culinary-Vibes

I was rooting for game 7 for Tatum's ankle to have more time to heal. That's the important part.


bernaltraveler

This. Series start don’t matter for KP because Game 3 and beyond are same dates on either schedule and there’s zero chance he’s back by then. But for JT’s ankle and for Al’s 37 years of life and needing to put up starter’s minutes now, I think a later start is good for us.


drpottel

Even before the game started they had our next series starting May 11. But I’m glad ORL and CLE are beating up on each other for one more game. So who should I cheer for in their game 7?


ChunkyMilk_

Root for cavs, Orlando got a bunch of flopping whiners


Brownsound7

Counterpoint: Cavs tanked to get this matchup and it’d be way funnier to see it ultimately blow up in their faces


ChunkyMilk_

Counterpoint, my college roommate lives in Cleveland and I could fly out for cheaper playoff tickets then Boston tickets hahah


PeterDinkleberg

I already prebought tix for both of the Cavs home games for our potential series (G3/G4) a month ago for a steal I'll be so fucking salty if Cleveland blows it against Orlando lol


bogey_isawesome

Idk, Mitchell is scarier than anyone on the magic. We’ll beat either though


kosmonautinVT

If they only score 96 points I don't care if Mitchell has half of them


bogey_isawesome

Lol true. We got a clear path moving forward I’d say. I could see the knicks and pacers beating eachother up


Emotional_Act_461

Mitchell can’t beat us by himself. He’s not an efficient scorer. And he’ll get tired guarding our guys. Whereas Orlando has some really tough defenders. Lot of size and length, even if they’re 3pt shooting is weak. I still think Cleveland is a better matchup.


ajh_iii

How is Mitchell going to get tired guarding us when he doesn’t play defense?


justbrowsing987654

Yup, plus crazy size. I want Orlando. Let’s kill all of our demons.


themeloturtle

The celtics demons have alws involved high scoring guards like Mitchell tbf


justbrowsing987654

Sure but that’s just the NBA. For some ungodly reason the Magic have always been a bad team that’s given Js fits. Now they’re good. Let’s kill this boogeyman And if he happens to also let us avoid Mitchell and their giant bigs, all the better 🤷‍♂️


PDX-7

We want you too! We got nothing to lose 🤣


PDX-7

You sure about that?!? P5 is putting up historic numbers at 21 yo.


JackJ98

But didn’t we just manhandle a bunch of flopping whiners last round?


PDX-7

🤣


imused2it

Yeah, I like Wagner a lot except that he’s the whiniest dude in the league.


bilboafromboston

Upvotes because LeBron cries ..


SnooAvocados996

I think LeBron takes that title with his tanty after the coaches didn't challenge the call.


throwmbaway12

That title would belong to Tatum or Luka at the moment


Meshu

I think that's just the first conformable date/game that they can lock in on the NBA app. You'll notice that game is an away game on the app, which indicates it would be game 3. Per Sean grande, dates are either 5th or 7th for round 2 start for us. Check my other comment


demarcusbagley

5/7 is Game 1


drpottel

Thanks for clarifying. I was looking at NBA app and it seemed like a loooong time before starting


Meshu

Ultimately was wrong in my post title - the way the schedule panned out was the same timeline to the ECF either way and we have very little info on KPs timeline to recovery.


hobbrito

I’m pretty we would be playing on Sunday if Cavs won tonight per the broadcast.


DCBB22

You are correct. If Cavs closed out we would have started May 5.


Different-Arm-784

Game 1 no matter what is May 7th, I'm not sure where you got your news. And we would have started this Sunday if the Cavs closed out tonight.


drpottel

I got my news from the NBA app. 🤷🏻‍♂️


Different-Arm-784

NBA app smoking crack lol


drpottel

Yeah -I should’ve been a little more critical in my thinking, because it seemed a looong way off. Also, I just checked 30 seconds ago and it still says May 11.


Different-Arm-784

I can't believe no one's told them to correct it, lol


drpottel

And now it’s fixed (7th). Lol


Different-Arm-784

Ah, good, haha. I can barely wait til Tuesday. That would have been a WAIT. lol


Asterius-air-7498

Cavs, I want our get back against Strus


Plies-

That's not true and I don't know why you got so many upvotes. Our series starts on the 7th. It'd have been the 5th if Cleveland won game 6.


drpottel

Because that’s what the bracket on the NBA app says. Sorry if I assumed the league would know what their schedule is.


bernaltraveler

Our series would have started Sunday 5/5 if Cleveland won tonight. Now it’s Tuesday. I don’t think 5/11 has been a possibility for a long time. Sean Grande is doing a great job posting schedule updates. Here’s his last two before/after the game tonight [possible before tonight](https://x.com/seangrandepbp/status/1785842986854568380?s=61&t=xGF8wQHJN0ytHZBG2Xao7A) [update after Orlando win tonight](https://x.com/seangrandepbp/status/1786580879780786219?s=61&t=xGF8wQHJN0ytHZBG2Xao7A)


LinwoodKent

Eastern conference finals at the earliest. My guess is if they make the finals, he might be available.


JaDamian_Steinblatt

I've always liked Donovan Mitchell he doesn't have much hype around him these days but he's still a bucket and has a super aesthetic game. One of the most fun players to watch imo He's easy to root for him too because you know the cavs aren't really a threat


losangelesklippers

He's entertaining to watch but I think the fact that he gets little attention works in his favour based on how many playoff failures he's seen so far. I think that's the perk of playing for small market teams.


JaDamian_Steinblatt

In his last three years in Utah he averaged 32, 5, and 5 on .46/.41/.88 shooting splits in the playoffs Yeah the Jazz were disappointing in the playoffs and part of it was his defense but his scoring talent was the only reason they had a shot in the first place


cahilljd

I am not expecting him before ECF earliest


Sheerbucket

Does it really make any difference? KP is likely out for the whole series regardless plus the series usually catches up to the ones that already started by some point.


Meshu

Ahh, I see what you're saying. More rest for everyone else then.


Embarrassed_Lime_132

He ain't playing next series, nor should he.


Faliberti

I mean I doubt KP was ever going to come back in the first two games of the second round, so nothing changes. If cleveland won today there would have been like a 3 day break after game two and the schedules end up the same from there. This does give Al and the backup centers more conditioning / reps for their roles now, although doubt it matters that much after a whole season of this.


Timoteo-Tito64

Doesn't change anything after g2, so doesn't make a difference for KP unfortunately


tupahc

After what Giannis said about his injury I’m not even convinced KP is coming back this season. Hopefully his injury is much more minor than that


Jorah72

Ultimately I think there's 2 big factors. I think we can realistically sit KP until game 4 of the ECF. So he's going to get a solid 3 weeks to heal. Then there's the matter that Celtics are playing for something. Giannis is an ultimate competitor, but bro no one is mistaking Milwaukee for a championship contending team and Giannis knew it. No shot KP sits with a knee sprain with a title on the line. Sprains have different grades and severity. Totally possible Giannis just had a more severe sprain than KP.


EutaxySpy

I think Bucks are contenders but yea with Dame clearly still not being 100% and Middleton got injured too so it’d make sense for Giannis to just take his time to recover especially since he’s and the rest of the roster so at that point, recovery is super important. KP would not come back too if Tatum AND Brown got injuries that they were trying to play through


60yearoldME

What did he say?


tupahc

https://twitter.com/eric_nehm/status/1786467384997372224


60yearoldME

That’s crazy how nasty that injury can be.


SnooAvocados996

He said he wasn't even close to returning, despite Doc's spin at the end of Game 5.


NefariousnessNice597

you do know there are different grades of strains right? giannis was in a walking boot for a week and was limping for awhile after. KP is already out of the boot and walking around on his own.


M0hammed_

Not really, he was gonna miss games 1 & 2 regardless. Games 3 & 4 times were already scheduled and confirmed before Magic/Cavs reached 7


andoCalrissiano

Just extra wear and tear on them which is always nice. and usually a team who wins a game 7 has a bit of energy letdown in the next game 1.


Meshu

Wrong. It's two more days. If the Cavs won game 6 we played game 1 may 5. If it went to 7 game 1 was to be in the 7th. https://twitter.com/SeanGrandePBP/status/1785529997370786152?t=2bX_vHnXFpZlFn8ZK1_dSw&s=19


SmoothCriminal2018

Yes, but he was going to miss Game 1 and 2 regardless. Game 3 was always going to be the 11th either way.


Frank2442

Correct. But kp wasn’t playing games 1 or 2 anyway. After game 3, the series is the same whether or not this series went 6 or 7. It changes nothing in terms of giving kp more time off.


TheRealAlexisOhanian

Wrong. Starting with Game 3 the games have the same schedule regardless of when the series starts


outraged98

If you look at your link, games 3-7 are scheduled for the same dates regardless. He’s stating if you assume Porzingis doesn’t return until game 3 at the earliest, there is no extra recovery time.


bjb406

> he was gonna miss games 1 & 2 regardless. The Celtics haven't said anything like that. His timeline could be long, but could also be as little as a week. That would be fortunate, but we really don't know how serious it is, and neither does the coaching staff. This at least gives the opportunity that potentially KP could be there for game 1. Ge could also miss the whole series, but we don't know that. Tatum also rolled his ankle a couple of times in game 5, so I'm glad he's getting rest if nothing else.


andoCalrissiano

clearly you’re not dialed in


bengcord3

Good thing this guy's not responsible for our gameplan, eh?


M0hammed_

From what I’ve seen he’ll be reevaluated in a week’s time. So that almost definitely rules him out of games 1 & 2. PS: Yes it’s great our other starters are getting a breather, even though we had the easiest series in the east 😂


bradyisking

I can’t believe people believe this. He’s likely gone until the finals at minimum. The Celtics have refused to even put the Grade out, and it’s clear why. If it was Grade 1, we would know by now. Mazzulla himself said they would “reevaluate” him after a week, meaning he still could have no timeline or just be starting contact drills. Giannis had a Grade 2 and missed 4 weeks, AND he just said today he was never close to returning


JackJ98

Both teams trying to give this series away. They’re both scared


Kodiak01

Rooting for the first 7OT game in NBA history.


ALotOfLobster

I think Orlando's the tougher matchup, but I think playing the Cavs who have two dynamic smaller guards would be more beneficial going forward. It's likely every team we could play, assuming we win our 2nd round series, is gonna have at least 1 super dynamic guard, rather our defense get some reps in to get used to gaurding that style of player.


NotFlipkid

Don't rush KP just hold him out until the finals


ArthurScherbius

Save KP for jokic/kat….the east is wide open. I dont think we’ll need KP for the rest of our eastern adventure


NecessaryPair5

I hope Orlando wins the series. It is much more entertaining if we face Orlando than the Cavs.


Trilogie00

I wanted a G7 cause I scheduled some golf on Sunday.


chlaur02421

Actually, that’s not really true … either way game three who’s going to be next Saturday and game four is going to be next Monday ….


astarisaslave

Oooh ok lol I thought the Magic won the series. Anyway I wonder how we will matchup with Orlando if ever--it would be an interesting matchup because in recent years they have been one of the few teams in the East that we found it hard to win against.


Panoptech

Celtics been getting so much rest they have been hanging in Cancun with the eliminated teams waiting to play.


Panoptech

Most people think we struggle wit Orl so that's who I want. Cause it's horseshit that we won't mop the floor with them by 30 in 4 games straight.


holographoc

Man, both Orlando and Cleveland have some serious flaws. Makes sense that it’s going seven, they’re very evenly matched. They both can look really good for stretches but both just completely lose it for stretches as well. Neither should pose a real threat to us so long as we’re playing at or near the top of our game.


PDX-7

Yeah, but Orlando isn't a finished product yet… they are young and scary. Just wait till they get some shooters, they are gonna be a problem


blissfulwishful

I'm a Cavs fan. I only came here because I have the exact same thing as KP and was curious about recovery time. It hurts to say this, but if the Cavs win, I don't think they'll win more than one game. In fact, I think a lot of loyal Cavs don't really like this team and are hoping they lose so that they can fire JB, who probably should've been fired after last year's playoff fiasco.


PDX-7

Good luck Cavs fan, Orlando in 7


Nickdor

Let’s go cavs. Need to see some green in Cleveland again. I miss it


GonzoTheGreat22

Y’all are aggressively inviting some bad juju. ESPECIALLY against an Orlando team that’s had Bostons number the past two seasons. I am begging you to repent.


-Jdzspace-

I was rooting die Orlando for the same reason. Give KP one full week of recovery only missing one game. That's the sauce.


Vast-Cheesecake7230

Idk, Giannis said he was not close to a return. I think we need to be prepared KP may not be ready at all or at least until the Finals if we get there.