BOSTON – Down 2-0 to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens inserted Gerald Green into the starting lineup and Boston hasn’t lost a game since.
But this is a new series, and that may result in a change to the starting lineup even after their 123-11 Game 1 win over the Wizards.
Green, who struggled during most of the seven minutes, 25 seconds of court time he saw in Game 1, did not begin the third quarter with the first unit.
Instead, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens decided to go with Marcus Smart in the third quarter who finished Game 1 with six points, three rebounds and four assists.
There's a chance that Smart could replace Green in the starting lineup for Game 2.
Stevens said there are factors that may come into play which may affect whether he makes a lineup change or not.
“I don’t know … wait and see kind of as the series goes on,” Stevens said. “And obviously (Markieff) Morris’ availability may affect some of our decisions with regard to how we rotate our bench. So we’ll see.”
Boston Celtics
Morris suffered a left ankle sprain after he landed on the foot of Al Horford, and was unable to return.
Washington head coach Scott Brooks said he watched the video of the play and “it didn’t look good.”
When asked about whether he would play in Game 2, Morris left no doubt that his intention was to indeed be in the Wizards starting lineup for on Tuesday.
“Oh sure. Oh yeah. It ain’t broke,” said Morris, referring to his ankle. “That’s what I do know.”