With the regular season coming to an end, Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens is looking ahead to the playoffs.
During a guest appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub, Steven's noted that he will be experimenting with bigger lineups ahead of the playoffs. One iteration of this bigger rotation will include Aron Baynes and Al Horford in the front-court.
Stevens is quite confident in the pairing of Horford and Baynes in the paint. In fact, Stevens dubbed it their best defensive option. However, the lineup could change, depending on the opponent.
#Celtics coach Brad Stevens says on @985TheSportsHub that Aron Baynes will start some games alongside Al Horford in a bigger frontcourt going into playoffs. Says lineup is C's best defensively, will fluctuate depending on size of opponent.
— Scott Souza (@Scott_Souza) March 27, 2019
Baynes got a starting nod in Tuesday night's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He didn't fill up the stat sheet (four points and two rebounds), but he made his presence felt on the defensive end of the floor. In the end, Baynes and Horford held Cleveland's bigs to 17 points combined.
During his post-game media availability, Horford noted that playing alongside Baynes has helped him a lot:
Via Nick Friar of CelticsWire:
“[Playing with Baynes] helps me a lot,” Horford said after Tuesday's victory over the Cavs. “He’s a great defender, always protecting the rim. It was good to play with him and I got to play with him a little more tonight than usual.”
The Celtics will be back in action on Friday night, when they'll serve as hosts to the Indiana Pacers. Tip-off inside TD Garden is set for 7:00 p.m. ET, with NBA TV having live broadcast coverage.
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