This is challenge time for the Celtics
It feels so distant now that it’s almost like a sad relic from a different season. So much has happened since, most of it good, some of it great. But of course it really was this year that a certain hideous injury threatened to ruin the Celtics’ best-laid plans before the first quarter of the first game was complete.
The Celtics have proved their resilience, mettle, and what we used to call Ubuntu around here time and again in the 66 games since prized free-agent acquisition Gordon Hayward landed after a botched alley-oop only to discover his left foot pointing in a grossly unnatural direction.
The shocked Celtics lost the game Hayward was injured, despite a fierce fight versus the Cavaliers that night. They lost the next game, too.
Then — and what an unexpected joy, even for those of us who had eulogized their season after Hayward went down — they ripped off 16 wins in a row. The Celtics, 46-21 right now, securely in second place in the Eastern Conference, have managed many victories despite Hayward’s loss.
They were not ruined; heck, the Cavaliers have dealt with more drama and angst since the opener than have the Celtics. In a way, a roster with just four holdovers from the previous season was fast unified by the injury.
But the encouraging season that blossomed after Hayward’s discouraging injury faces another challenge now. One crucial injury in the season opener could not derail their season. But a series of recent injuries that has hit them now, with just 15 games remaining in the regular season, threatens to abbreviate their postseason plans.
If I didn’t know better, I’d wonder whether their current roster is attempting some sort of bizarre tribute to Pervis “Out Of Service’’ Ellison right now. In just the last week, Jaylen Brown is in concussion protocol after a frightening fall following a dunk; backup big man Daniel Theis went down, most likely for the remainder of the season, with a torn meniscus in his knee; and Marcus Smart suffered a thumb injury that is expected to sideline him indefinitely.
All of this, individually and certainly in sum, is a drag. Brown’s incident was frightening, even more so than witnessing Hayward’s injury in real time, because for a brief moment it appeared Brown had broken his fall with his head. It’s a blessing that he walked away from that, but it’s understandably hard to believe he’ll be right for a while. It could have been worse, but it was awful as it was.
Theis has been one of the best under-the-radar finds in recent Danny Ainge transaction history. When the Celtics signed him in June to a two-year deal, I looked at his 9.6-points-per-game average with Brose Bamburg in the German league and figured he was Semi Erdin 2.0. Instead, he’s proven to be a lively defender, shot-blocker, and rebounder who can knock down a three when the opportunity comes.
In other words, he’s a real asset. Losing him means more will be expected from Greg Monroe, but pretty much the only thing they have in common is that they are tall.
The Smart is injury is just disheartening. On a smaller scale, he did so many of those things for the Celtics that Dennis Rodman used to do for the ’80s Pistons before he became a caricature. He fights for every loose ball, and he wins most of those fights.
Smart is the Celtic most likely to rip down a rebound between two taller players with the team holding on to a small lead late in the fourth quarter. Sure, his shooting is erratic (insert your joke about the thumb injury possibly being good for his jumper here; I’ll wait) but mark my words: He’s going to make those types of plays for a championship team someday. Losing him now is a huge blow.
This is the kind of this-is-a-brutal-game attrition you’d expect over the course of the Patriots season, not from the Celtics. And that’s without even taking into consideration Kyrie Irving’s nagging sore knee, which is apparently nothing more than tendinitis but is concerning nonetheless. When a player of his dynamic abilities, at just 25 years old, is experiencing knee problems that seem to resist going away for any length of time, it can’t help but make you wonder what that knee will feel like at 30.
The Celtics can still achieve some impressive feats. The reasonable aspiration still should be to reach the Eastern Conference finals, at a minimum. It’s just that the degree of difficulty has grown. There are a lot more “ifs’’ attached now. If Brown is tentative when he returns, if Smart’s season isn’t over, if Irving’s knee is aided by more rest . . .
A week or so ago, the biggest “if’’ was a hopeful one — whether Hayward would make an inspiring return before the season is over. Now? Well, let’s put it this way. Four days ago, Kadeem Allen was scoring 6 points in the Maine Red Claws’ loss to a team calling itself the Erie Pepperoni Balls. When the Celtics take on the Wizards Wednesday night, there’s a decent chance he’s in their guard rotation.
In a small way, it will be intriguing to watch Brad Stevens try to work some magic with this roster. But in the big picture, all of those “ifs’’ add up to one giant “when’’ — specifically, when will the Celtics’ varsity be intact again?
