BOSTON — The Boston Celtics are gearing up to take on the Orlando Magic in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown vs. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Injuries to Jalen Suggs and Mo Wagner mean Orlando will be a bit short-handed, but their physical three-point defense remains stalwart.
Meanwhile, Boston has been dealing with its own injuries throughout the season. Guys like Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday were going through some issues down the stretch of the season, but heading into the playoffs, it looks like everyone will be ready to go.
Here is the latest Celtics news as the playoffs inch closer.
Kristaps Porzingis injury update
After Celtics practice on Wednesday, Kristaps Porzingis stated that he’s in a good space as the playoffs get started.
“Yeah, feeling good,” he said. “Feeling good. Taking care of my body. It’s good to have these few days off, of course. Not just for myself, but I’m sure for a lot of guys. And yeah, we’re feeling good, feeling healthy, and ready to go.”
Porzingis dealt with a serious illness around early March that held him out for eight games. On top of that, Porzingis missed roughly a month of action at the beginning of the season while recovering from offseason surgery to repair a rare foot injury.
But now, he’s ready to roll.
Jrue Holiday injury update
In February and March, Jrue Holiday missed some time with mallet finger, which is an injury to the tendon on the top knuckle of a finger. Holiday’s injury was in his right pinky finger.
However, he no longer has to wear the larger cast/brace during his everyday life.
“You see that?” Holiday said, showing off his new splint device. “It’s kind of ugly. But it’s good. I get to move my finger. It feels kind of weird. I haven’t moved in like six weeks. That knuckle part.”
Holiday played through the injury, and while he was hurt, he had some of his best shooting games of the season. While he doesn’t know how that happened, he did note that, since he still has to play in the larger brace during the postseason, he hopes it continues.
“I don’t know. I still have to play in it, so hopefully the good shooting keeps happening,” he said. “But I think it’s just about adjusting. Being as adaptable as possible. And I think, luckily, it was on my pinky finger where, if you’re a shooter, I think these three fingers are probably most important. But, yeah, you figure it out.”
And as far as whether or not he’ll have to play with the brace on for the entire playoff run, he simply stated, “We’ll see.”
Jayson Tatum is ready to get no foul calls
Physicality gets turned up in the playoffs. And with a team like the Magic staring them down, the Celtics need to be ready to withstand a lot of that.
Jayson Tatum knows that calls aren’t going to be coming their way (or vice versa), but that’s just the nature of the playoffs.
“I mean, it’s the playoffs,” Tatum said. “It’s gonna be my eighth season going into the playoffs, and we should just expect we’re not gonna get no calls, right? The refs, they let you play a lot more. Get away with a lot on both ends, right? There’s probably some shit we get away with. So just know that, going in, expect to be fouled, expect them not to call it, and just worry about the things that you can control.”
Tatum added, “It’s not about fouls, it’s just matching their physicality. Being prepared for a fight, compete on both hands, and just do all the little things as hard as you can.”
Tatum, Al Horford love playing at TD Garden
TD Garden is at its loudest when the postseason comes around, and Tatum and Al Horford are very much looking forward to playing in that environment.
“[There’s] no place like it,” Tatum said. “The energy that they give us, and we feed off of. Been in a lot of close games, some big moments, and the crowd has helped us win a lot of playoff games. So, it’s the best time of the year to be in Boston. We understand that the city is excited for the playoffs, and they always bring the energy.”
“The crowd,” Horford said when asked for the best part of playing in TD Garden during the playoffs. “Just our fans. It’s just a special place. We’ve talked about it before, but, yeah, just the people. They are what makes that atmosphere special.”
