With just over a week to go in the regular season, the Boston Celtics have one last crucial push ahead to avoid the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
At 34-31, the Celtics enter play Wednesday night owning the seventh seed and sit just a half-game behind the Miami Heat for the sixth spot in the East, which would save them from a play-in scenario.
But the gravity of the team’s playoff situation won’t change coach Brad Stevens’s mind about keeping Kemba Walker as fresh as possible for the playoffs.
Walker has yet to play both games of a back-to-back this season and likely won’t play Thursday evening after he takes the floor tonight against the Orlando Magic.