The Boston Celtics took a 3-0 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers despite being underdogs the entire time. They fell in Game 4, however, as Philly simply refused to go down quietly and get swept.
Now, head coach Brad Stevens is apparently considering making a lineup change heading into a potential close-out Game 5 at home in front of the Celtics faithful.
INTRIGUE: Brad Stevens says the Celtics are considering a change to the starting lineup.
— Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) May 9, 2018
The Celtics started the postseason with Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Aron Baynes in the starting unit. Stevens has had to make adjustments on the fly, including re-inserting guard Marcus Smart into the rotation.
Over the last couple of games, however, Smart was inserted into the starting lineup in place of Brown, who suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of Game 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks, and returned after missing Game 1 of the Sixers series. In every game since his return, whoever, he’s come off the bench and provided a good boost to the young Celtics squad. Could he be the player Stevens wants to re-insert with the starting unit?
So far in the series, Smart has been incredibly effective against Ben Simmons, including holding him to a one-point performance in Game 2.
Game 5 will tip off at 8PM EST.