Celtics Notes: Holiday, Brown, Porzingis, Offseason

The Celtics are getting healthier as they prepare for the start of their second-round series against the Knicks, writes Matt Vautour of MassLive. After Saturday’s practice, coach Joe Mazzulla offered an encouraging update on Jrue Holiday, who missed the final three games of the Orlando series with a strained right hamstring.

“He was able to work on everything he wanted to work on,” Mazzulla said. “He’s getting better every day.”

Holiday’s return will be especially important in the matchup with New York, as he’s likely to be the primary defender against Jalen Brunson.

Jaylen Brown told reporters that he’s feeling better despite dealing with a posterior impingement in his right knee that has been bothering him for several weeks. The condition hasn’t gone away, but Brown is learning how to play through it.

“I’m just trying to trend back in the direction of being 100 percent,” Brown said. “Physically holding my ground and still making plays for our team. Even with guys being out — Jrue, (Jayson Tatum) missed a game — being able to step in and fill a role. I feel I’m decent. Now, moving forward, it’s a whole different ballgame, different team, different challenges. My focus is fixed on that. Structurally, everything is fine. There’s some other stuff going on, but I’m trending in the right direction.”

There’s more from Boston:

• The Celtics are looking forward to getting back to their normal style of play after being frustrated by Orlando in the first round, Jay King of The Athletic states in a discussion of the upcoming series with Fred Katz and James L. Edwards III. That means returning to their normal rate of three-point attempts, which the Magic were able to limit much better than the Knicks did in their four regular season matchups with Boston.
• There are reasons to be concerned about Kristaps Porzingis heading into the second-round series, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. Robb points out that Porzingis has never played more than seven games in any postseason, and he wasn’t effective in rebounding against Orlando or in stopping dribble penetration by Franz Wagner. Those challenges will be magnified against New York, which has Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson on the boards and Brunson attacking the basket.
• Robb expects money-saving roster changes this summer, noting that the Celtics had “a unique two-year window” to compete for a title with the current group. He sees Porzingis and Holiday as obvious trade candidates and adds that there could be “surprises” depending on how far the Celtics advance in the playoffs.