With eight games left in the season, the Boston Celtics will soon be figuring out what their postseason picture is going to look like.
In the immediate picture, there is plenty to sort out in relation to their first-round matchup and playoff bracket at large.
It’ll be a six-of-their-final-eight-game run against postseason opponents that will determine the seeding between the top four teams in the Eastern Conference. The Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Celtics are all separated by a game at the moment.
When it comes to the long-term health of the Boston Celtics come playoff time, it’s all about the personnel.
And apparently, it isn’t likely that there will be any late additions to the roster ahead of the postseason barring something catastrophic.
MassLive’s Brian Robb confirmed such in his latest Boston Celtics Mailbag in answering a reader’s question about the likelihood we’d see Joe Johnson back in green again:
"There are plenty of fans of Johnson on the roster and within the organization after his 10-day stints back in the Winter. However, I think what you see is what you get right now with the roster. Boston still has an open roster spot but I don’t anticipate them filling it unless serious injuries emerge ahead of the postseason."
Simply put, Boston is locked into the core it has now and the support players Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has chosen to surround them with.
As Robb does point out, there’s room for role players to catch on late in the season and earn long-term deals in the process, but guys like Sam Hauser, Nik Stauskas, and Malik Fitts are already striving for that reality. The likelihood for more additions just isn’t high.
And that’s not an issue. At least it shouldn’t be to the somehow fourth-seeded Cs that were at one point 23-24 this season.