Can the Celtics Go Far in the Playoffs Without Gordon Hayward or Kyrie Irving?

  Look at the NBA Standings, NBA fans.  The Boston Celtics might escape the Cavaliers and the Raptors until the Eastern Conference Finals.  Does this mean they could make it that far? We know Gordon Hayward has been out all year, but recently, Kyrie Irving, who has been held out due to a knee injury, was ruled out for the entire season back on April 5th.  This is a huge blow to the Celtics as they have put together a great season, battling injury all year long and still sitting 4.5 games back from the Eastern Conference leading Raptors. This will be an interesting challenge for head coach Brad Stevens, but the real question is: Can the Celtics get deep into the playoffs without Kyrie and Gordon?  Realistically, no. These two not only are scorers but are floor generals and really help gel the team together.  If the Celtics could even make the conference finals they would need the following:

  Terry Rozier would have to step up like he has without Kyrie.  He would be heavily relied on and will need to show that he can do this every night and in the playoffs where Rozier hasn’t played many minutes.  Rozier has shown big time spurts of great play. In his first start of his career he tallied a triple-double with 17pts 11reb and 10ast. Rozier will need to be able to tap heavily into his scoring and give the Celtics 18-20 points each night in the playoffs and needs to be a strong playmaker as well.  Rozier is capable of this, but only time will tell if he can do it in the playoffs on a consistent basis.

  Next, Jaylen and Jayson need to BALL OUT.  The spotlight will be on them to also pitch in every night and shoot for a high percentage.  Tatum has the ability to score 15-18 each night easily and he should show that he can do that his first time around in the playoffs.  If he has a strong playoff, teams will fear him and the fact that he is only a rookie. Rozier will need the help to advance them past the second round.  

  Brown also needs to help score.  They will need around 15-18 from Brown as well and he will have to really show he can hang after he played tons of minutes in last year’s playoffs.  He is one of the few players on the Celtics roster who have playoff experience and actually played a lot of minutes in last year’s playoffs. He will need to score and also be a leader on the floor and give his best defensive performances.

 Lastly, Al Horford needs to give more offensively if the Celtics want to keep rolling through the rounds.  We all know he is a top defender at his position but he needs to show he can still be a dominant force in the paint.  He has done a great job all season and will just have to give a little extra for the team to keep moving. He needs to make sure teams don’t take him lightly and if they do, he will punish them.  

 The Celtics have the ability to reach the ECF, and it becomes quite interesting as at this point with the Cavaliers falling to the 4 seed, meaning the Celtics would draw the equally young 76ers in the second round.  The injury to Kyrie really hurt the team as they were looking really strong heading into the playoffs and poised to make a deep run. It will be interesting to see what happens in these NBA Playoffs.

Written by Nick Kazandjian