The Boston Celtics have continued to defy the odds all season long as they now prepare for their second straight Conference Finals appearance. However, head coach Brad Stevens does not plan to rest on any of their laurels just yet.
Despite their success, the starting lineup has not been set in stone in the postseason. According to Scott Souza of GateHouse Media, Stevens plans to keep it that way for their series versus the Cleveland Cavaliers:
Article Continues BelowCeltics Brad Stevens was non-committal on starting 5, but said “We're going to play all the lineups.”
Although it may seem like a new trend Stevens is sticking to, it is one that he has had to execute all year. Injuries to their star players like small forward Gordon Hayward and point guard Kyrie Irving have essentially forced him to balance out the starting lineup as much as he can on any given night. Needless to say, he has done a masterful job of it thus far.
Stevens had to make adjustments last round against the Philadelphia 76ers thanks to the lingering hamstring injury to shooting guard Jaylen Brown. This has seen shooting guard Marcus Smart being inserted in and out of the starting five. Meanwhile, the emergence of point guard Terry Rozier has made him a bonafide star throughout the playoffs.
Boston will need to do much of the same if they are going to have any chance of containing small forward LeBron James in the next round. While they were able to do a masterful job on a player of his similar skill set in point guard Ben Simmons, it goes without saying that stopping James will prove to be a much more difficult task.