The Boston Celtics are in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference, and with every given day, those standings get shaken up between the teams close in contest for one of the top six seeds.
And amid this last sprint before the NBA playoffs, seemingly hot at the right time, the Celtics still are having to deal with loaded injury reports.
For that reason, coach Brad Stevens gives his players a lot of credit, understanding that it's difficult to come in and have a true gauge of what your role is when so many different players miss games on a given day.
When they're healthy, he also likes their chances in a playoff scenario.
"I think that they're in a tough spot because there hasn't been enough separation in some circumstances, there is in others," Stevens said in a pregame media availability ahead of the Celtics game against the Phoenix Suns.
"But I still think that with the addition of Evan when he gets back, with the addition of Jabari (Parker), I think that there probably isn't as much known from game to game. And that's a difficult position to be in for those guys. But I feel really good about what we would look like from a rotation standpoint on most nights. Some will be determined obviously when you start talking about seven, eight or nine, especially as you get deep into the season and, you know potentially into a playoff scenario, I feel really good about what we look like."
Whether it gets to that playoff scenario is to be determined, but as things stand now, Boston looks primed for at least the play-in games awaiting the Nos. 7-10 seeds.
That playoff push begins Thursday against the Suns at 7 p.m. ET.
