addByline("Marc D'Amico", "Celtics.com", "Marc_DAmico");
WASHINGTON – The NBA announced Saturday afternoon that Wizards forward Kelly Oubre Jr. has been suspended for Game 4 against the Boston Celtics after making “forceful and unwarranted contact” with Kelly Olynyk during the second quarter of Game 3.
The Celtics did not have much of a reaction to the news following Saturday’s practice, other than Jae Crowder’s comment that the Wizards will be missing the energy Oubre Jr. brings to the game off of the bench. The fact of the matter is, however, that the Wizards will be playing without one of its top seven players in terms of minutes played during this postseason.
Washington head coach Scott Brooks was unwilling to share his plans for replacing Oubre Jr. in the lineup following his team’s practice Saturday afternoon.
“I’m looking at all options, maybe give some extra minutes, maybe add another guy, maybe change some spots on the floor with different players playing different positions,” he said, according to the Washington Post. “Those are all on the table right now. We just have to pick one by tomorrow early evening.
“Whoever I pick I have full confidence in the guy or the situation we pick that they’re going to play well.”
One of the top options for Brooks is to increase the workload of 6-foot-8 swingman Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic has had a strange series thus far, as he opened the series with 10 points in 19 minutes during Game 1, but then earned only eight minutes of playing time during Game 2 while going scoreless.
Game 3 was his best performance of the series, however, and the most indicative of the skill set he brings to the table. He scored 19 points in 29 minutes of action and canned four of his seven 3-point attempts.
The Celtics are well aware of Bogdanovic’s ability to stroke the ball from long range but admit that they did not pay enough attention to that skill during Game 3.
“Our attention to detail on him and what he brings is not where it needs to be,” said Jae Crowder, who pointed out that Bogdanovic has been an even better shooter this season at the Verizon Center. “He’s a guy who can really hurt you from the 3-point line. As a team, as a unit, all five guys on the court have to be aware of what he’s at.”
Added Brad Stevens, “You’ve got to be more attached. You can’t let that guy get going, and you can’t let that guy get so many looks where he doesn’t feel anybody.”
Gerald Green and Bogdanovic are very different players – Green relies on athleticism, while Bogdanovic relies on skill – but both are known as players who can fill the score sheet when they check into the game. Green gave his insight Saturday afternoon as to how difficult it is to turn a guy like him or Bogdanovic off once they’ve connected on their first couple of shots of the game.
“It’s tough, man,” he said. “It’s tough to stop a ball that’s rolling down a hill. It’s going to keep rolling.”
Green then insinuated that the key to slowing a guy like Bogdanovic down is to never let him get going in the first place.
“I think for guys that come in and score, you’ve just got to try to take them out of their game early on,” he said. “Coaches put scoring players in position to be successful, and that’s why you’ve got to have your teammates help you out and it be a five-man effort instead of a one-man effort.”
No one on the outside of Washington’s locker room knows for sure if Bogdanovic will be the man who is called upon to replace the majority of Oubre Jr.’s open minutes during Game 4. However, he appears to be one of the team’s top options based upon his strong performance during Game 3.
That effort was Boston’s latest reminder that it cannot allow Bogdonovic to begin rolling down the hill. If the shooter catches a rhythm, it may be too late to late to stop him.