ATLANTA — For many teams, the playoffs are a time when rotations are shortened and the roles of star players tend to be increased. But the Celtics’ bench has been one of their greatest assets this season, so it will be intriguing to see how coach Brad Stevens tweaks and twists his groups as this best-of-seven first-round series against the Hawks unfolds.
“Obviously, one of the things is you’re going to have to find out, and we have four games of information against these guys, but you’re going to have to find out who is the best fit for this series and who are the best guys to play in this series at what time,’’ Stevens said. “I just think that’s something that will determine how many and who we play. But I certainly have no inhibition to throw any of our guys in the game, because I trust all to do their jobs when they get in there.’’
During the regular season the Celtics had eight players who averaged 22 minutes or more, and 10 who averaged 12 or more. When the Celtics battled injuries this season, Stevens has always been confident inserting players into prominent roles.
“If you don’t play tonight your time may come the next night,’’ he said. “If you don’t play many minutes tonight, it may come the next night. You’ve just got to be ready, and that’s what professionals do.’’
In the Celtics’ 102-101 Game 1 playoff loss to the Hawks on Saturday night, Stevens mostly used a small, guard-heavy lineup. Starting big men Jared Sullinger and Amir Johnson and reserve 7-footer Kelly Olynyk combined to play a total of just 54 minutes.
“I thought we struggled to guard them out of the gate, so that was a big reason why we did that,’’ Stevens said of going small.
Before Saturday’s game, Stevens said the fact that his team has faced Atlanta four times this year — the Hawks won three — will give him some added intelligence amid the ebbs and flows of this series. But he said having a general feel for how a game is developing is very important, too.
“[The Hawks] can put you in a really tough spot with their shooting and their savvy,’’ Stevens said. “You talk about playoff experience and they have a ton of it. We’ll have to focus on what we can control and find the right groups for us.’’
Thomas unpluggedCeltics point guard Isaiah Thomas frequently consults other NBA players for advice and instruction. When Lakers guard Kobe Bryant made his final appearance in Boston in December, for example, Thomas got an audience with Bryant and peppered him with questions about how he developed his killer instinct on the court.
Leading up to these playoffs, Thomas spoke to Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul about what Paul does to get prepared for such an important stretch.
One of Paul’s suggestions was to unplug from social media, so Thomas has done just that. He announced the decision on, well, social media, telling his 316,000 Twitter followers that “it’s been real’’ and that it was “time to lock in.’’
“Man, I’m just trying to really lock in and have no distractions,’’ Thomas said as he sat near his locker Saturday. “Social media, you can have a big game and they love you; have a bad game, they’ll tear you apart. I just want the least amount of distractions for myself, and just try to really lock in and stay in the moment.’’
Thomas said the first 24 hours of his self-ban were not difficult, particularly because his two young sons are here in Georgia to keep him occupied.
“I might be tempted later on,’’ he said, smiling. “Probably [Sunday] when we don’t have a game. Just got to stay in the moment.’’
Get ready to adjust This is Hawks forward Kyle Korver’s 10th season taking part in the NBA playoffs. He has seen how teams use previous matchups to prepare for an opponent. He has seen how those games can add useful intelligence about a team’s tendencies and style of play. And he has seen all of that preparation based on the past become irrelevant quite quickly.
“Everything goes out the window after Game 1,’’ said Korver, who struggled through a 1-for-10 shooting night in game 1, including 0 for 7 from long distance. “You’re either feeling really good about the series or you’re feeling really bad about the series. Playoff series are just, like, up and down.’’
[Journalists] are singing praises or killing us. It’s a game-by-game thing. So I think the regular season prepares you and helps you put together a game plan for the series. But after that it’s a game-by-game thing.’’
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com.
