There’s nothing worse than a season derailed by internal disconnection, an oddly-constructed roster and injuries popping up just ahead of the postseason.
And normally — at least in recent years — that’s been the Boston Celtics luck in one form or another.
This time, at least for now, it’s one of their most likely postseason opponents, the Philadelphia 76ers after news of starting point forward Ben Simmons knee subluxation was broken by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Should this change the way the Celtics are thinking about the postseason?
It’s certainly true that the team’s 6-5 record without him suggests they are the worse for his absence, which shouldn’t surprise given his talent level far outstrips general issues of fit with at least minimally creative coaching and rotations.
And while the team’s spacing will likely improve with the lineups the team will turn to in his absence, that doesn’t necessarily suggest a net positive given the step down on both ends of the floor any of the available options represent — whether using the Australian as a big or as a distributor.
And while many Boston fans and analysts alike haven’t been keen on the notion of facing the 76ers’ superior size and length, a not-small part of that has been due to Simmons defensive capabilities as one of the best-suited players in the league to create problems for the Celtics dynamic wings.
But there’s also the issue of the severity of the injury, and whether it’s enough to keep him out much more than the first several games of the postseason.
General estimates range from a few weeks to over a month, meaning it’s not out of the question Simmons is back on the court before the end of such a series — even if he probably shouldn’t be. More information on the timeline will be released soon according to head coach Mike Brown, per Woj.
But, no matter which way the picture points, rest assured Boston will be more focused on getting ready for extended playoff minutes over tilting the seeding scale with exceptionally untested lineups.
The Celtics will almost certainly focus on getting their main eight or nine guys big minutes for the rest of the season save perhaps the final game against the lowly Washington Wizards.
Expect little change in how they approach the remainder of the seeding games regardless of Simmons’ prognosis — even if we think they should, they almost certainly won’t.
