I started to believe in this team but ...

[Csfan1984]

Well the week I had bought in that C's were destined to be in the finals TL goes down. Now I feel Celtics are back to the middle of the pack. Is anyone else feeling this crushed by TL's injury? Do you believe we are cursed and we need are own sage ceremony?

[Squigs]

We aren't cursed.  I feel we were playing with house money with TL staying healthy this long, to begin with.  Plenty of nights I have been like, "[dang]..  Dude is still in the starting lineup. No nagging hip/knee/back injuries, etc".  I didn't foresee a serious injury, tbh..  But was still surprised he was playing in so many games without nagging injuries, up to this point.  He will be missed, for sure.   

[Rhyso]

It's been a massive blow. If we make it to the second round and TL comes back, then we can make a run. Alternatively if Grant Williams steps even more along with PP and some Nesmith, I think we could do get there without him, assuming JT and JB keep trending upwards.

[Roy H.]

I'm still pretty optimistic.  Disappointed, but optimistic.

[ozgod]

I think luckily for us Timelord plays a position we can most afford to lose, because it's the position where we have the most depth of players who are familiar with the system. We have Al, Theis and Grant as a 3 big rotation. Theis will just play a lot more minutes than he would have otherwise, if Timelord had been healthy maybe Theis gets DNPs or 10 mins a game in blowouts, but now he gets about 20-25 mins. GWill continues with his role as hybrid wing/big playing 20-25 min depending on the existing lineup.

If Al, Theis or GWill get injured then we would be pretty unlucky, and most teams that lose 2 starters or rotation players will be in a difficult position anyway, our chances would definitely take a hit. If Kornet will probably be the next cab off the rank. I just can't see Ime punting on a signed player totally new to the team and trying to fit him in cold, whether it's Zeller or anyone else. Maybe Parker because of his familiarity with the team but he's not really the type of player that Ime seems to be looking for. Otherwise we would have kept him.

Just for context, here are the injuries that other EC playoff bound teams have right now:

Boston
- Timelord

Miami
- Robinson
- Vincent
- Martin

Milwaukee
- Bembry

Chicago
- Lonzo

Cleveland
- Mobley
- Jarrett Allen
- Sexton

Brooklyn
- Simmons
- Harris

Charlotte
- Hayward

Atlanta
- Collins

It's unfortunately that time of year. The only teams right now that are fortunate enough to be fully healthy are Milwaukee and Toronto in the East. I didn't look into the West but there's teams missing stars there too. We've had a charmed run of late, but I think most teams can afford to lose one key rotation player and have enough to cover for them. It's when you lose two that it starts to test your depth. Thankfully we didn't lose a star, like Tatum or Brown, or an organizer like Smart. I'm not prepared to slit wrists just yet 

[boscel33]

Really, people bailing because of one injury and one game?

Update folks, TL to miss 4-6 weeks after surgery this morning, or basically, he might return in the second round.

Also, we lost one game to Toronto so far.  We were missing 4 of 5 starters and still went to OT.  Let's see what the team does with 4 of 5 starters in the lineup.

The #1 and #2 seed may not happen, but this team is still good enough for #3 or #4.