The Boston Celtics lost to the Atlanta Hawks in game 1 of the first round in the 2016 NBA Playoffs but the Celtics suffered a possible bigger loss than the game itself. In the fourth quarter their best perimeter defender, Avery Bradley, suffered a hamstring injury and he left the game to end up not returning. To make matters worse, the postgame prognosis was not ideal either.
Following from Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
Stevens said Bradley told him he heard a "pop" in his hamstring, had no injury update #Celtics #Hawks
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) April 17, 2016
#Celtics staffer is helping Avery Bradley put his socks on. No bueno.
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) April 17, 2016
Bradley said he will get treatment all night to try to play in Game 2. "I can't walk," he said. #Celtics
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) April 17, 2016
Avery Bradley, holding himself up with a crutch. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/kfX29iZsO6
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) April 17, 2016
If Bradley misses any time, the C’s might be in some big trouble defensively. Avery Bradley is the main guy for the C’s on their perimeter defense followed by Jae Crowder and Marcus Smart. His ability to guard both bigger wings and smaller guards makes him an ideal defender in this matchup with the Hawks. His defensive prowess makes up for the lack of defensive skill from their All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas.
Without Bradley, the C’s might have to get creative by possible inserting Marcus Smart in the starting lineup alongside Isaiah Thomas and having Crowder and Smart switch off on the trio of Jeff Teague, Kent Bazemore and Kyle Korver. The unfortunate thing is Isaiah is going to have to play big minutes defensively on one of those guys and Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer would love to exploit that.
UPDATE: Celtics coach Brad Stevens says that it is very unlikely that Avery Bradley will return for the remainder of their first round series against the Hawks.
#NEBHInjuryReport: Stevens says, "Avery (Bradley) has a pretty significant strained hamstring." He's "very unlikely" for rest of the series.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 17, 2016
