Al Horford was a late question mark to play Sunday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies after dealing with some back soreness early in the day. However, the veteran big man played 24 minutes in his return from a one-game absence in Boston’s blowout win over Memphis, the team’s final tuneup before the start of the postseason.
The Celtics will have at least five days off now before the start of the NBA first round on Saturday or Sunday. That extended break is all Horford thinks he will need to shake off the injury.
“I think these next few days will be very good for me, and I should be fine by the time we get going again,” he said.
Horford showed no signs of the injury during his 24 minutes of action, posting 13 points and 6 rebounds. The ailment has impacted him at points throughout the year according to the 35-year-old
“A couple times earlier in the year it happened, midseason and then recently after the Chicago game,” Horford said. “So we’re trying to stay on top of it.”
With such a long layoff, Horford preferred to see some live action on Sunday rather than getting extra rest for the ailment.
“This is different,” Horford said. “This is definitely different. And part of the reason why playing tonight was important for us not to have such a long time without playing. So it’s different and we have to prepare and make sure that we’re ready for Saturday (or Sunday).”
Preparations begin for Nets or Cavs
The play-in tournament will kick off on Tuesday night with a battle between the Cavs and Nets for the No. 7 seed in the East. Don’t count on Horford to be glued to his TV in real-time for the matchup though.
“I mean obviously I’ll follow the game,” Horford said. “I might watch it. I’m going to have to watch it at some point, because we’re going to play either one of them, but it’s not high on my priority list.”
Ime Udoka won’t be mandate a group watch session among his players although he signaled his coaching staff will be putting their heads together while watching the matchup. Udoka says the preparations will begin well ahead of that game concluding for the first round series.
“we’ll know Tuesday night, so it’s early enough for us to have plenty of time to look at them both,” Udoka said. “We’ll worry about ourselves initially. Take a look at it Tuesday night and come back with a game plan Wednesday for whoever we’re playing. Like I said, plenty of time, you got three or four days, depending on where we play, to prepare for whoever.”
Udoka also has a practice plan setup for the team despite first round schedules not being released until Wednesday.
“We’ve already mapped out the week in case we play on Saturday and Sunday,” Udoka said. “Just getting some initial rest. Some days, with the day off, obviously, and some optional days. We’ll try to take advantage of this week and then build up an easier day, a hard day with some scrimmaging with another day off. Then kind of medium until game time. Like I said, we have it mapped out based on Saturday and Sunday, and just really want to get some scrimmaging in, and obviously, emulating some of the opponent’s plays and dig into their personnel.”
Juwan Morgan takes final roster spot
Days after his first 10-day contract expired, the Celtics re-signed Juwan Morgan to a contract, making him eligible for the postseason and giving Boston a full roster heading into the postseason.
“Yeah, it was a guy that’s played well with our G league team all year,” Udoka said. ‘We had him in training camp, obviously, and he’s another guy that can do a lot of what we’re doing versatility-wise. We’ve had a chance to look at some different positions and different players and what he does fits well with our group.”
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