Sunday was exactly what the doctor ordered.
The Celtics had something to play for: win in Memphis on Sunday and the Celtics wind up as the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. While some teams (like the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers) took the path of resting their stars an extra day for playoff health, first-year head coach Ime Udoka decided to keep the starting five in the lineup against the Grizzlies — who had their own playoff seed sewn up and did not play their regulars.
Matchups in the first round weren’t of consideration to Udoka, as he viewed home-court advantage and the process of trying to win as many games as possible as more important than steering towards or away from certain opponents:
Ime Udoka: "Everyone is talking about Brooklyn, but they have a Play-In game to play.