BOSTON – As tempting as it may be to chase the Raptors for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics will be wise to err on the side of rest.

Of their Opening Night starters, only one player (Jayson Tatum) is a definite for the team’s next game with each of the other four -- Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford -- missing at least part of Sunday's 99-97 loss to Indiana. The easiest way to prevent further injuries from derailing a potentially special season is to not play certain guys.

So don’t be surprised to see the Celtics enter the playoffs with some not-so-gaudy stats in the final month, but a roster that is well-rested and better equipped to play what they hope will be a lot of basketball well into the month of June.

The Celtics know keeping Marcus Smart around after he becomes a restricted free agent this summer won’t be easy. And his play of late has skyrocketed his value across the NBA landscape for three reasons: better shooting, lock-down defense and success. And the loss to Indiana really drove that point home. Yes, the Celtics lost the game but it was Smart’s 20 points which included six made 3s, that kept them in the game well after Kyrie Irving’s sore left knee sent him to the locker room for the entire second half.  

Greg Monroe is still feeling his way through Boston’s system, looking like a player whose doing more thinking than just playing. But that divide continues to shrink with time, as Monroe is looking more like a reliable big man off the bench with each passing day. And with Daniel Theis’ knee injury which could potentially sideline him for a period of time, the importance of Monroe’s play can’t be overstated.

Because Boston shuttles so many players in and out of the lineup, players don’t worry about getting into foul trouble the way a lot of teams do. That’s why Boston isn’t shy when it comes to fouling an opponent, evident by them averaging 20.1 fouls committed per game which ranks 11th in the NBA. But as we saw against the Pacers, Boston can still play strong defense and not do so by hacking away at the competition. Against the Pacers, Boston was only whistled for 16 fouls with a couple that came late in the fourth when Boston was on the comeback trail.
 

There never seemed to be a point in the game when Marcus Morris looked into the flow of the game, which makes him no different than any other NBA player. But some of Morris’ struggles can be attributed to him being in the starting lineup. With the first group, Morris didn’t seem to look for his shot as much early on more is understandable for players who play with Kyrie Irving. More than anything, Morris chalked it up to him just having an off night.

“It’s like that sometimes,” Morris told NBC Sports Boston. “You have to put it behind you, move on to the next game.”
 

He has been on just about everyone’s short list for the NBA’s Coach of the Year award in large part by how he has kept his team together during some scary times this season. Losing Gordon Hayward on Opening Night, three-game losing skid on the eve of the All-Star break and the seemingly never-ending health-related questions because, well, the team’s health has been an issue all season. Despite all that, Boston is likely to land one of the top two seeds in the East which is an impressive accomplishment considering all they had to overcome, and doing it with the fifth-youngest team in the NBA.