Boston Celtics: What The Loss Of Avery Bradley Means For The Celtics

From all indications, the Boston Celtics will have to survive without Avery Bradley for the remainder of their first round series against the Hawks

For one, if in fact Avery Bradley is going to miss the remainder of their first round playoff series, this is certainly bad news for the Boston Celtics.

But what does it exactly mean for the Celtics, who are down 1-0 in their first round series against the Atlanta Hawks?

It’s pretty simple. If nothing else, the Celtics are losing their best wing defender. It hurts a bit more considering that Jae Crowder hasn’t looked the same on the defensive end since he suffered a high ankle sprain late in the year.

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But the loss of Bradley doesn’t stop there. Boston not only loses its best perimeter defender, but also now will probably lose a big element of their bench – whether that be Evan Turner or Marcus Smart. Celtics coach Brad Stevens has yet indicated who will take Bradley’s spot in the starting five, but the sense is that it will likely be Smart.

Mostly because Smart offers a similar skill-set of Bradley, especially on the defensive end. Plus, you’d think that Stevens would want to keep Turner, the team’s best scoring punch off the bench, as a weapon on his second unit.

Even though Smart isn’t the weapon that Bradley is on the offensive end, he can do a lot of what Bradley does on the defensive end. If nothing else, you always know you’re going to get his best effort when he’s on the floor.

The good news for Boston is that Smart actually played extremely well in Game 1 against the Hawks. Smart finished with 15 points and five rebounds on 3-6 shooting from three-point range, which was a pleasant surprise considering he shot 25 percent from distance in the regular season.

Question is, with Smart likely moving to the starting unit, who is going to replace his minutes off the bench? That onus will likely fall on R.J. Hunter, who actually saw the floor momentarily in Game 1, or Terry Rozier, who spent most of 2015-16 on the Celtics D-League.

They know this could be there time.

RJ Hunter and Terry Rozier know they need to be ready. Rozier: "We talked about it all last night."
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) April 17, 2016

All in all, the loss of Bradley has a huge ripple effect on the entire team. Stevens will likely have to play Isaiah Thomas, Smart and Turner more minutes, especially if he isn’t comfortable trusting Hunter or Rozier.

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Most of all, Bradley’s absence hurts Boston’s biggest strength – their defense. Without any rim protection, the Celtics rely on their wing defenders more often than not. Losing their best one will definitely hurt.

Boston’s depth will be tested in this series.