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The Boston Celtics are prime candidates for this year's NBA Finals title. The team is third in the Eastern Conference with a winning record of 47-30.
If the playoffs started today, the third seed Celtics would take on the sixth seed Toronto Raptors. This is according to a regularly updated hypothetical bracket on the NBA's website.
The Celtics went 2-2 in their four regular-season meetings with the Raptors, but have proven elsewhere that they are the more talented team. However, if Boston is slated to take on the Raptors in the playoffs, things may not go in their favor.
A reporter recently asked Brad Stevens about his players' eligibility to play in Canada. The head coach refused to comment on his players' COVID-19 vaccination status, leaving the question unanswered.
Celtics blogger Keith Smith tweeted the uneasy interaction Friday morning.
Brad Stevens asked by @Toucherandrich if every player on the Celtics is eligible to play in Canada: "I know where this is going. We've said from Day 1 that we will not comment on vaccination status."
Stevens said: "I know that's not the exact answer you are asking for."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) April 1, 2022
The Celtics head coach got more and more frustrated with the questions, and denied any answers regarding vaccination statuses.
When pressed by being asked "It's not a vaccination question by an eligibility question" Stevens said: "You're really good at words!"
Stevens added "I have nothing else to say. If our players want to talk about their status, that's up to them. But I have nothing else to add."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) April 1, 2022
There are two potential reasons for Stevens' frustration.
One, he doesn't want to talk about personal choices that his players have made unless they openly discuss it themselves.
Or two, Stevens knows that there is at least one Boston player that is unvaccinated and doesn't want to show their cards.
For now, it's all speculation, but the comments were extremely cryptic. If any players on the Celtics are not vaccinated against COVID-19, they cannot travel to or play in Canada.
This narrative hits too close to home for the Brooklyn Nets. The team spent most of the season playing home games without Kyrie Irving. He recently made his home court season debut in the Nets' Sunday night loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
