Paul Millsap, Kent Bazemore, Avery Bradley

Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley (0) shoots between Atlanta Hawks forwards Paul Millsap (4) and Kent Bazemore during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, April 9, 2016, in Atlanta.

(AP Photo/John Amis)

The Boston Celtics will protect Avery Bradley from himself if the shooting guard tries to return to the team's first-round playoff series before he's fully healthy.

During a weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich show Thursday morning, team president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said he considers Bradley playing another game against the Atlanta Hawks a "long shot." The good news? Ainge said Bradley avoided a complete rupture of the hamstring, which is called a Grade III tear.

"It was closer to a Grade I injury," Ainge said.

That means Bradley suffered a Grade II injury, which is a partial tear of the hamstring. If the Celtics can extend the first-round series long enough, Bradley's hope to return may not be completely out of the question, though it still seems "very unlikely," as head coach Brad Stevens said Wednesday.

"I guess the good news yesterday after the testing was it's not as bad as it could have been," Ainge said. "We were very worried by the way he reacted in the first day but he is much, much better. But I think its a long shot that Avery would be back in the series."

"Avery is so critical, such a critical piece of our future, I'm certainly not going to allow Avery to go out at less than 100 percent. The hamstring is one of those kind of injuries that seems to come back on guys if they have a serious one," Ainge added. "But I know Avery is fighting at the bit; he would try to pay under any circumstance if he could run. I will prevent and intervene there to keep Avery from jeopardizing himself and make sure he doesn't make a bad decision. We'll put him through tests to make sure he's 100 percent if that is the case."