NBA Playoffs 2012: How Avery Bradley's Injury Affects the Celtics Going Forward

The Celtics got very, very unlucky this week.

Avery Bradley is done for the rest of the playoffs, and the Celtics' incredibly short, half-old and half-inexperienced bench just got a lot scarier—not in a good way.

Perfect timing, too, with Game 7 against the Sixers coming up and the Heat waiting for whomever emerges alive from that.

The Celtics will probably be OK against the Sixers in Game 7.

They're playing at home, where they posted a huge Game 5 victory on Monday after a crushing defeat at Philly three days earlier. The situation now is very similar: They need to come home, get the momentum back and win in order to stay alive, and they'll have to do it all without Bradley, who didn't play in their last win.

Now that we know Bradley is having surgery and isn't coming back until next year, the Celtics are going to have to get creative.

They're going to have to ask guys like Brandon Bass and Mickael Pietrus to step up again, and they're going to have to hope to God nothing happens to Rajon Rondo because they certainly don't want to see what happens when Keyon Dooling is the starting point guard.

Bradley's role at the end of this season has been crucial.

Because of him, Ray Allen was able to take his time returning from an ankle injury. He didn't have to return until he was truly healthy enough to contribute. Because of Bradley, the Celtics were able to maintain a competent and successful backcourt, but now, an aging Allen is going to be forced into more minutes and will probably be counted upon for more offense than he can produce. Behind him will be Pietrus, who averages an amazing 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per eight-ish minutes.

Brandon Bass needs to have a huge game on Saturday if the Celtics are going to advance past the Sixers.

He had a huge Game 5, when he tallied 18 third-quarter points for a total of 27. He only averages 12.5 points per game, so it's asking a lot. But if the Big 3 are not 100 percent on and Bass can't take the heat off, this team is toast. The Big 3 need help, and Bass is the last remaining resource.

Beating the Sixers won't be easy, but it is doable. It was doable on Monday, and it will be doable in Game 7.

Once this series is over, though, and this very short Celtics rotation steps into the ring with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade & Co. …

Uh oh.

It's a shame, because a couple of weeks ago, the Celtics—with a healthy roster—could've contended with the Heat. They did, after all, take down Miami three times in April. But without Bradley—without the one player who's capable of stepping in when Rondo and Allen need help—it will be over sooner rather than later.

The Celtics have survived this long, but this blow is just one too many.