With Celtics inching closer to full strength, time is now to close gap in East

Slowly but surely, the Celtics are getting closer to full strength for the first time in months. Kyrie Irving (eyes), Marcus Morris (neck) and Rob Williams (groin) all went through a full practice on Sunday afternoon and Irving has been fully cleared to return to action after missing the past two games with eye inflammation.

“They’re ok,” Irving said of his eyes. “Right eye had a scratch in it, left is just really inflamed, so just kind of waiting for it to kind of calm down. It’s going to take time, but I’ll be ready for tomorrow.”

Irving noted that it was a vision issue more than a pain problem that kept the All-Star sidelined against the Timberwolves and Mavericks.

“Mainly visual, yeah. I make my living with my eyes. My whole entire body, but my eyes are just one of the most important things that I need to play this game," he said. "It was swollen, and there was light sensitivity after the initial hit. Watched it a few times, trying to figure out whether or not it was malicious or not, but I don’t think it was. So I’ll let it go. But I got hit pretty good, and I’m just glad to get a few days rest, as well,” he said.

The injury news is almost just as good for Morris, who was dealing with a neck issue suffered in Wednesday’s win over the Wolves.

"It's a lot better,” Morris said of the neck. “I've been working on it the last three days. Motion's better. Feels good."

The team has listed him as probable for Monday’s game against the Nets, which would put the starting five back at full strength for the first time in a week.

Meanwhile, the C’s are closer to adding some big man depth back to the lineup as well. Williams is getting closer to action after suffering a groin injury two weeks ago in Texas. The team has listed him as questionable for the Nets game after six straight missed contests.

“Feeling good, trying to get myself right mentally, sitting out as much as I’ve been sitting out my rookie year, but just putting all my trust into the trainers hoping they get me back in good time and speed,” Williams explained.

Those recoveries leave Aron Baynes as the only Celtic who's expected to be on the mend past this week. However, three weeks after suffering his broken hand and undergoing surgery, he’s approaching the tail end of his recovery timetable.

“He does shooting on his own, conditioning on the bike, all that stuff,” Brad Stevens said. “He hasn't engaged in any team drills or anything like that. I think he goes back to the doctor tomorrow or Tuesday, to get it re-evaluated and get a better idea of his timeline.”

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While the Celtics have not had the kind of bad injury luck they experienced throughout last year, it’s been a long while since Stevens has had all of his weapons at his disposal. With names like Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward getting back on track more in recent weeks with Boston being shorthanded in other areas, the question now is whether they can sustain that rhythm in more limited roles, something that this group has struggled with earlier in the year.

"It's probably harder when we have everybody, because everybody can’t shoot,” Morris explained of playing at full strength. “Everybody can’t get the amount of minutes they want. It's just a different feeling when you're out there comfortable and you’re playing the amount of minutes you want and taking the shots you want. I mean, that's for everybody around the league. It's just a different feeling. You know, once we come to that point where every minute counts for everybody, no matter what we do, we'll be good to go.”

Stevens acknowledges the challenges that exist for guys trying to excel in shorter time windows on the floor, but it’s those kinds of effort that will separate this team from just being a talented playoff team to a bonafide contender.

“It’s so easy for somebody to write about or me to say, like, control what you can control. Right?” he said. “Because that’s all you really can do is focus on the task at hand in that moment, if you’re playing, if you’re sitting, whatever you can to prepare for that moment. It’s a lot easier said than done when you’re playing sporadic shifts. I’ve said before, like, the guys that come off the bench all have it a little bit tougher than the guys that start. The guys that play once every three games and don’t know when they’re going in, they’ve got it by far the toughest. That’s why when you see a guy like Brad Wanamaker do what he did the other night, Semi always coming in consistently ready, Guerschon impacting us in Memphis, those are really special performances because that’s hard to do.”

For a few weeks now, it’s been tough to properly evaluate this group in the wake of team meetings that have cleared the air and isolated defensive struggles. Guys have fit far better into their roles on an offensive basis in the last month but it’s largely come with one or two rotation pieces out of the lineup. Defensively, there have been some alarming lapses, but some of that has to be expected with Baynes out and Al Horford playing just 25 minutes a game against tough road opponents with elite bigs (LaMarcus Aldridge, Clint Capela, etc.). The Rockets and Spurs have been carving up all their opponents, not just the Celtics, which make those efforts look better after the fact.

The advanced metrics remain very optimistic for this team despite their current standing as the No. 5 seed in the East. Those numbers indicate that this group should have won three more games than they currently have, a reasonable stance when you look back on a few late-game gaffes (Indiana sticks out) that proved costly.

“Our offense has been good in the last two months,” Stevens said. “We've had moments defensively where we haven't been. I think when we come back to full health, that will be a positive, but at the same time, I'm more encouraged than discouraged. The record being what it is, I think we've got a lot of room to still improve, but we also have shown that we can do a few things.”

With a full arsenal returning to the fold this month along with a very friendly home schedule (nine of next 13 at Garden), the time is now for the Celtics to make up ground. With a loaded top half of the conference, nothing is a given for this group right now in the East playoff picture. However, the time for excuses is running out. Roles have been defined, team meetings have helped to establish a hierarchy and the feeling out period is over. If the Celtics want to have homecourt for a couple of rounds (something that will be needed to get out of the East), the time to make a move is now.