Next man up: Don't count the resilient Celtics out just yet

Without Kyrie Irving, Boston can no longer realistically compete for an Eastern Conference title, but the fact it took until April to decide the team's fate speaks volumes about how resilient the Celtics have been.

Gordon Hayward famously and gruesomely saw his season come to an end only minutes after it had tipped off. Marcus Smart has missed more than a quarter of the campaign, and was ruled out for six-to-eight weeks after undergoing thumb surgery three weeks ago. Marcus Morris, the team's projected starting power forward coming into the year, has been absent for 26 games. Jaylen Brown missed 11. Shane Larkin has missed another 13. Daniel Theis, who had emerged as a quietly competent reserve for Boston, suffered a (likely) season-ending knee injury in March.

And yet, it took April surgery on Irving - who had already missed 18 games this season - to finally bury the Celtics, who sport a 53-25 record nearly six months after Hayward's ankle took a devastating turn.

It's one thing for coaches and teams to thoughtlessly trumpet the phrase "next man up," but Brad Stevens' 2017-18 Celtics have truly embodied the mantra - not just surviving, but thriving regardless of who they're forced to toggle in and out of the lineup.

"The expectation is we have 15 guys that are NBA players on NBA contracts, and they all bring a great strength to the table," Stevens said Wednesday in Toronto. "They're not all the same, but if they play to those strengths and play hard and play together, then we'll have a chance."

Few teams give themselves a chance as frequently as the Celtics, who prior to Wednesday's 96-78 loss to the Raptors, had only lost one game by more than four points since the All-Star break.

Much of that can be tied to Boston's league-leading defense, which has proven to be its great equalizer against lineups that otherwise appear vastly superior and infinitely healthier.

"It's very impressive what this group has been able to accomplish," said Al Horford, who's anchored that top-ranked defense and been the one member of Boston's assumed Big Three that's managed to stay healthy.

"Usually in an NBA schedule, it's just the way it is that you have those nights where you don't quite have it, but I just think we have a resilient group - a group that wants to compete, that wants to keep playing no matter the circumstances, and that's a credit to the group of guys here and to coach. We're putting it all out there, we're trying to do the best we can. This is as good a group as I've been around in that regard."

So how have the Celtics - battered and bruised since the season's opening quarter - managed to mostly avoid those nights?

"I think it all starts with coach Stevens," Horford told theScore. "I feel like he does a good job of really preparing our group and making sure that guys understand that they're important to the team. This year is a testament to staying ready - you never know when you're number's going to be called. Guys have answered, but it's because of coach's mindset, and the confidence that he gives his players."

There is perhaps no better example than rookie guard Kadeem Allen, a second-round pick on a two-way contract who entered this week with roughly 39 minutes of NBA experience under his belt. Then between a 26-hour span Tuesday in Milwaukee and Wednesday in Toronto, Allen logged more than 40 minutes, starting against a potential first-round opponent (Bucks) and coming off the bench in what was essentially a battle for the East's No. 1 seed (against the Raptors).

Allen, like Horford, praised Stevens' detail-oriented prep work for keeping him ready for his moment.

"I'd say the preparation, and the focus that we have as a team. We're so locked in and focused on details," Allen said as he scarfed down a pregame meal and conducted an interview without taking his eyes off the game film he was studying to his right.

Then there's Boston's higher-profile youngsters. Rookie Jayson Tatum's been a two-way revelation and leads the team in total minutes. Sophomore Jaylen Brown has the highest usage rate among remaining Celtics starters. Third-year guard Terry Rozier has played the best ball of his career when Boston needed it most, averaging 16.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.3 steals while canning 40 percent of his 3-point attempts in 10 starts since Irving's been sidelined.

"The best thing about our team is our young guys. They've stepped into a role where they're basically veterans," Morris told theScore. "J.B. (Brown), J.T. (Tatum) playing a lot of minutes, doing not just a good job, but a great job staying healthy, competing every night, playing like they've been in the league for a while. You've got Terry Rozier, didn't start any games (Rozier started three of his first 180 career games before starting in each of his last 10), and now he's a premier guy in this league, and he's showing that he can play."

The Celtics will struggle to score in the postseason. Their offensive rating without Irving on the floor (101.3 points per 100 possessions) would rank 28th overall, nearly 3.5 points worse than the next most anemic playoff team. And they don't have the top-end talent to hang with Cleveland, Toronto, or even Philadelphia in a playoff series. But those looking to write Boston off as first-round fodder should reconsider the Celtics' season.

Stevens is going to tap every ounce of talent remaining at his disposal, his team will be as well-prepared as any other, and they're going to defend at an elite level. They'll likely be the underdogs when they open the postseason at home next weekend, but the shorthanded Celtics might have one surprise left in them yet.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)