The Boston Celtics desperately needed this extra time before their next game
It is hard to think of a worse way for the Boston Celtics to have started the season. Right away, Marcus Morris was not going to be ready to get into the lineup. Five minutes into the first game Gordon Hayward suffered what appears to be a season ending injury. Then in the second game, Marcus Smart rolled both his ankles, and was sidelined against the 76ers.
The Celtics had to deal with all of this with one of the most packed schedules to start the year. They opened up back to backs and the third game quickly came after that. Having those three games so close to each other made it impossible for the Celtics to recover and try to adapt from their injuries.
Now, the Celtics get the breather that is desperately needed. The Celtics do not play again until Tuesday, and they will enjoy every bit of this mini break between their games.
We are still waiting for updates on both of them, but there is a good chance that Smart and Morris will be back for their next game, finally giving them a game with their complete roster for the rest of the season.
More from Hardwood Houdini
- Boston Celtics’ two-way contract decision will be made after training camp
- Proposed trade sends Boston Celtics playoff killer to the Cs from rival
- ‘Face of Germany’s stunning run’ in FIBA World Cup not the only ex-Boston Celtics player to win gold
- Proposed Boston Celtics trade target pitched for reunion with fired coach
- Battle For Banner 18: Will Boston Celtics battle historical foe in 2024 Finals?
This will also give Stevens a little time to sit back and evaluate where the team needs to go from here. It still is not much, but at least he has a three game sample of what this team looks like without Hayward, and now he can start figuring out how to adapt the approach in order to get the most out of the players that are still there.
It has been horribly disappointing, but we have learned some things about this team. We know that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are ready to handle significant roles on this team, and they can feel good about their ball handling depth with Terry Rozier and maybe even Shane Larkin after his 76ers performance.
There still has been little separation from the second unit front court, but the return of Morris should settle that down a little bit. Stevens will have to continue to play around with his rotations, because there is a lot to learn. That being said, he now has some frame of reference, and some extra practice time between games in order to try and get these players on the same page.
The Celtics will use this extra time to get healthy, and they will use this time to try and settle things down, because the team has looked completely out of sorts. It is shocking how much better they functioned just in the preseason, meaning a lot of players have been pushed outside their comfort zone with these injuries.
Stevens has a sample to have an idea of what he can expect from his players, and guys like Al Horford and Kyrie Irving have the sample to determine how they may need to change their game with the different setting.
Everyone is quickly realizing that just passing is not the answer, because they have killed themselves with a lot of bad passing. The already inevitable adjustment period has been accelerated in a bad way for the Celtics, but that does not mean they cannot adjust.
The Celtics are still discovering what kind of team they need to be, and this break is their first chance to sit back and let things settle, without having another injury set them even further back.
Next: Tatum Showcasing Full Offensive Arsenal
Getting Morris and Smart back will be the most important, because they need all their players out there, but this is a team where most players should be gradually improving throughout the season, as they discover exactly how they can work together to get the most out of the talent.