Crowder fans hope
Homecourt advantage needed
CLEVELAND — Heading home to the Garden should be a comfort, though the Celtics haven’t always played that way this postseason.
But now that elimination is one game away following a 112-99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers last night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, home is all they have left. Tomorrow night’s Game 5 will find them trying to improve on a rather middling 5-4 playoff record at the Garden.
“We’re humble enough to know we haven’t played well at home, and we want to give our home crowd a better outing than we did the past two games,” Jae Crowder said. “We’re right there where we want to be — we’re locked in.”
Crowder wants to hear from the Garden crowd.
“I’m expecting our fans to be able to carry us a little bit and be behind us,” he said, “and personally I feel like it’d be a great time for us to get a win, especially on our homecourt.”
Said Al Horford: “A lot of energy. We need it to be very lively and we’ll go out there and we’ll fight. I’m just excited that we have another opportunity and hopefully be able to come out on top.”
Crowder strained his groin after falling and sliding into a split in the third quarter, though he was able to return. Of course, that meant chasing LeBron James around the floor on defense in a diminished capacity.
IT seeks opinions
Isaiah Thomas met with his first specialist Monday, and based on what Celtics coach Brad Stevens said yesterday, the injured guard might have many doctor’s visits to make before he decides on a course of action, including surgery on the torn labrum in his right hip.
Thomas planned to speak with doctors in Boston and New York, and it’s possible he might expand the process to other parts of the country.
“Isaiah saw somebody (Monday),” Stevens said before Game 4. “He met with one physician, one specialist. His X-rays and all of the information that they gathered are being sent to another specialist. I think he’s probably going to collect one to two more opinions and then go from there before he ultimately makes a decision on the next step, whether that next step is surgery or a specific rehab program, whatever the case may be.
“But he’s still obviously really sore, and some of the inflammation (has) to go down before they can make the final call.”
According to president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, Thomas is prepared to take his time in pursuit of the right solution for his injury.
“We’re not in a rush,” said Ainge, who added that so far Thomas’ meetings have been with team physician Brian McKeon and his medical group. “There won’t be any procedures until everything calms down in the hip joint. He’s clearly not going to play. If we win three straight games and stay alive, you’re not going to see Isaiah Thomas coming back.”
Ainge said he anticipates Thomas rejoining the team tomorrow night for Game 5.
“It’s been very tough for him, being away from the team,” Ainge said.
Look into future
The Celtics are operating on a more limited pre-draft workout schedule right now. Director of player personnel Austin Ainge said workouts of candidates for the No. 1 pick in the June 22 draft will occur after the team’s season ends.
Stevens, after all, has to be on hand when the likes of Markelle Fultz and Josh Jackson do their individual workouts for the team. LaVar Ball, the outspoken father of Lonzo Ball, has said his son will only work out for the Los Angeles Lakers. Ainge noted the Celtics have not heard that directly from the Ball camp.
“He has publicly said (Lonzo) won’t work out, and that’s what we have to go by,” Ainge said.
Danny Ainge and his staff will travel for some workouts, possibly including Fultz. But there will predictably be only a limited amount the C’s can learn from the sessions. None of the players in this group will work out against another player.
“They’re all one-onnone,” Austin Ainge said. “The only one last year who did work against other players was Jaylen Brown, the No. 3 pick, and that’s because he didn’t have an agent.”
Thus far the Celtics have worked out secondround prospects and early-entry players who might still withdraw their names from the draft.