Bradley's injury less severe than first thought

The Boston Celtics may have caught a small break with Avery Bradley's hamstring injury, but it's unlikely to matter if they can't find a way to overturn a 2-0 series deficit and get past the Atlanta Hawks.

While Bradley's injury is less significant than originally feared, the Celtics still consider it a "long shot" that he returns during the first round, team president Danny Ainge said in a radio appearance Thursday morning, as quoted by MassLive's Jay King.

"It was closer to a Grade 1 injury," Ainge said, indicating that it's a partial tear at worst, perhaps even just a strain.

"I guess the good news yesterday after the testing was it's not as bad as it could have been. We were very worried by the way he reacted in the first day but he is much, much better."

The Celtics are in dire straits, needing four wins in the next five games to advance, and the impact of Bradley's absence has rippled across the roster. Still, even given the more encouraging prognosis, Ainge won't let Bradley return at anything less than full strength, even if Bradley insists he's good to do.

"Avery is so critical, such a critical piece of our future, I'm certainly not going to allow Avery to go out at less than 100 percent," Ainge said. "The hamstring is one of those kind of injuries that seems to come back on guys if they have a serious one. But I know Avery is fighting at the bit; he would try to play under any circumstance if he could run. I will prevent and intervene there to keep Avery from jeopardizing himself and make sure he doesn't make a bad decision. We'll put him through tests to make sure he's 100 percent if that is the case."

The Celtics, who were also without center Kelly Olynyk for Game 2, will return home for Game 3 on Friday.