The Boston Celtics will have to find players in the starting lineup and off the bench who can step up when Thomas is either not on the floor or being double teamed by the opposing team.
The Bulls are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games playing on 3 or more days rest, 6-2 ATS in their last 8 road games and 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games overall. The Clippers have plenty of experience and the bigger names, but Utah will be tough to beat at home and I think they sweep the home games and take one in LA. "Now they've got a confidence that Isaiah is going to have no matter what, so you've got to lock in on everybody".
"I've noticed a different drive with this team", Green said.
So as much as fourth-year coach Brad Stevens would like to pat his team on the back for claiming the Eastern Conference's top seed, the chase for an 18th banner is all the focus he needs as his team prepares to face the eighth-seeded Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs.
That's why his answer when asked how long he realistically could guard Isaiah Thomas, the Celtics' 5-foot-9-inch scoring dynamo, shouldn't surprise. Can the Cleveland Cavaliers get their act together or suffer the fate that the Boston Celtics have over the last two years? "I feel very strong about this group. I never wanted to leave Boston".
"I didn't even respond", Brown said.
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And former Gators coach Billy Donovan has the Oklahoma City Thunder back in the playoffs as the No. 6 seed.
The Celtics have finished top in the East for the first time since the 2007-08 season, when they won their league-best 17th title. But the green guard will lead you to believe that he adapts to the game plan on a night to night basis and will sacrifice offensive numbers in order for his team to win.
A year ago with Miami, the future Hall-of-Famer elevated his playoff scoring to 21.4 ppg while converting 12 of 23 (52.2%) from the arc after going 7 for 44 during the regular season. "So they reached out to me already and had some words". 82 is a lonnnnnggg, grind-out season.
Our nERD metric - a team ranking, on a scale of 0 to 100, that is predictive of a team's ultimate winning percentage - can help account for both seed and strength of the NBA's playoff-bound teams. The C's lost the first two games in Atlanta - getting blown out in Game 2 thanks to a seven-point first quarter. "But we'll talk about what was accomplished later". "It shows we're making improvements".
The team can not afford to lose Thomas, but these five players are also essential to the team's playoff hopes and must play big to go deep into the playoffs.
"We have a great group". "We've got home-court advantage, we've just got to protect it".
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