Blog

Our Celtics dropped a heart-breaker in OT to the Chicago Bulls, this much we know.  The 100-99 loss hurt, not only in the Eastern Conference standings, but also in the psyche of the players, coaches and fans who felt certain Paul Pierce was fouled at the end of regulation.

Well, guess what?  More than anything, our Celtics’ gallant effort at a comeback was undermined before the game even started.  As soon as Avery Bradley was scratched due to sore ribs, our Celtics were a flawed team playing without arguably its best defender.  And when you watch that last-second prayer of a shot thrown up by Marco Belinelli, you can’t help but wonder if he could have even possessed the ball with Bradley in his grill.

But that kind of speculation is like that old Tootsie-Roll-Pop commercial: The world will never know.

Instead we’re left to wonder whether Bradley will be back for the next game, or if the doctors and coaching staff take a more conservative approach to his return.

Clearly, the Celtics are far better off with Bradley in the lineup.

Hopefully that will be the case on Sunday night, when the Celtics travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons.