The Boston Celtics might have guard Avery Bradley back at some point in the NBA playoffs, but it likely won’t be in the first round.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters Sunday that Bradley, who suffered a hamstring strain in Boston’s 102-101 Game 1 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, is “very unlikely” for the rest of the teams’ first-round series. Stevens also called the hamstring strain “pretty significant.”
Bradley described the injury in more detail after Saturday’s loss, and he even said he hoped to be back for Tuesday’s Game 2.
“I tried to go up and block (Jeff) Teague. When I came down, I felt weird,” Bradley said in a postgame interview on CSN New England. “I took a few steps and I just couldn’t walk. …Â I just want try to get treatment and take it day-by-day, and hopefully I can be back by next game.”
But that apparently won’t happen.
Replacing Bradley’s offensive and defensive output for the rest of the series certainly won’t be easy, but one player who will be in the spotlight even more now is Marcus Smart.
Thumbnail photo via Jason Getz/USA TODAY Sports Images
