Aron Baynes is confident that he will be there on opening day for the Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics know that they are going to have a fluid rotation that is in transition. Their roster turnover alone will lead to a lot of chaos, but then you add on the Marcus Morris situation and the Aron Baynes injury, and Stevens was starting to run out of front court options next to Al Horford.
Baynes suffered a hyper extended knee in their third preseason game, and his status for the opening game is up in the air. He is now considered day to day, and has given the fans and organization the news they needed to hear right now.
Baynes has said that he is “confident” that he will suit up on Tuesday night (Via CBSSports), and that will give the Celtics some much needed stability as they try to start the season on the right note.
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The problem is this is not guaranteed at this point. The Celtics have always been patient with injuries, and even if they need that stability to start the season, they will not put any part of the future at risk by rushing Baynes back into the lineup.
Baynes really simplifies a lot of things. It appears as though Morris still needs more time before he is ready for a full starting role, and the next option appears to be the 19 year old rookie who opposing teams would certainly look to attack.
Jayson Tatum has shown that he can hold his own, but it is difficult to tell how that would hold up in the regular season. Now they get to leave Tatum where he can be more comfortable, and give the second unit their best offensive option.
Getting Baynes back for opening night is not just about stabilizing the starting unit, and providing much needed traditional size. On top of that, losing him means taking away a top second unit option, and the second unit will need even more time that the starters to figure out how their rotation will work.
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There is nothing official, so you will have to continue to keep an eye on it, but this is the news we are looking for with Baynes. With how good he looked in his preseason stints, we are expecting Baynes to have an impact right out of the gate, something that would be harder for any other option that could be put into his position.