While it looked like a lot of teams were making strategic decisions with the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs in mind, resting players on the last day of the season in ways that might have made for a more desirable first-round matchup, the Boston Celtics did not.
Instead, they played their starters against the Memphis Grizzlies’ reserves, putting the Celtics in a position to win the East’s second seed to close the season, and a matchup with either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the postseason. Speaking to the press after the Grizzlies blowout, Boston head coach Ime Udoka explained why the Celtics elected to take such a path, emphasizing the importance of balancing continuity with rest for key players.
“Nobody played more than 26 minutes,” he began.
Some of the best plays from the game on Sunday captured in images. https://t.co/3W3epRVOUR
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) April 11, 2022
