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ORLANDO, Fla. — The Celtics were already likely going to be shorthanded for Game 3 against the Magic, but they now have another key star on the injury report. Jaylen Brown was added late as he’s now questionable for the 7 p.m. Friday game due to right knee posterior impingement.
Jayson Tatum (bone bruise in his right wrist) is still doubtful as he missed Game 2 due to his injury. Jrue Holiday (right hamstring strain) is questionable. So that’s now three total starters listed on the C’s injury report ahead of Game 3. The injuries are starting to pile up for a Celtics team already banged up two games into the playoffs.
Brown getting added late isn’t a great sign when it comes to his knee. He’s dealt with a bone bruise in his right knee for roughly the past month. While he excelled in Game 2, scoring 36 points, he hasn’t had the same explosiveness that he’s shown off when fully healthy. The All-Star played in 42 minutes in Game 2 after a 30-minute day in Game 1. The workload was significantly more than he had played recently; he hadn’t played that much since a 38-minute game against the Thunder back on March 12.
Brown played through the knee issue throughout the regular season, seeing what he can and can’t do during live-game reps. He shut it down for the final three regular-season games ahead of the playoffs, resting his knee before the most important part of the season. Prior to Games 1 and 2 this series, he was not listed on the injury report.
So while Tatum’s right wrist is a major subplot of this series and the Celtics’ playoff hopes, Brown’s right knee is another issue. Tatum hurt his wrist after a hard fall late in Game 1, and while he finished out the playoff opener, he was forced to sit Game 2. Plus, it appears Holiday picked up the hamstring strain in Game 2 as those can be tricky to navigate.
“He’s dealing with a severe bone bruise,” C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said of Tatum on 98.5’s Zolak and Bertrand. “He’s day-to-day and he’s progressively gotten better each day. Yesterday, he went through all the protocols and did everything you should possibly do up to the last moment to try to play. He just wasn’t able to do it but he’ll go back at it again today and he’s in that day-to-day process right now.”
The Celtics are currently up 2-0 in the first-round series over the Magic. While they’re still favored over the No. 7 seed these playoffs, the series now shifts to Orlando for the next two games. If Tatum continues to be out and the Celtics are missing another one of their starters, it’s going to be difficult to keep picking up wins.
Mazzulla rolled with an eight-man rotation with Tatum out in Game 2. Al Horford entered the starting lineup as part of a double big look alongside Kristaps Porzingis. Then off the bench were Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet. But if Brown or Holiday are unable to go in Game 3, alongside Tatum’s doubtful status, the C’s will need to lean on their entire roster more for critical playoff minutes.
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Jayson Tatum (bone bruise in his right wrist) is still doubtful as he missed Game 2 due to his injury. Jrue Holiday (right hamstring strain) is questionable. So that’s now three total starters listed on the C’s injury report ahead of Game 3. The injuries are starting to pile up for a Celtics team already banged up two games into the playoffs.
Brown getting added late isn’t a great sign when it comes to his knee. He’s dealt with a bone bruise in his right knee for roughly the past month. While he excelled in Game 2, scoring 36 points, he hasn’t had the same explosiveness that he’s shown off when fully healthy. The All-Star played in 42 minutes in Game 2 after a 30-minute day in Game 1. The workload was significantly more than he had played recently; he hadn’t played that much since a 38-minute game against the Thunder back on March 12.
Brown played through the knee issue throughout the regular season, seeing what he can and can’t do during live-game reps. He shut it down for the final three regular-season games ahead of the playoffs, resting his knee before the most important part of the season. Prior to Games 1 and 2 this series, he was not listed on the injury report.
So while Tatum’s right wrist is a major subplot of this series and the Celtics’ playoff hopes, Brown’s right knee is another issue. Tatum hurt his wrist after a hard fall late in Game 1, and while he finished out the playoff opener, he was forced to sit Game 2. Plus, it appears Holiday picked up the hamstring strain in Game 2 as those can be tricky to navigate.
“He’s dealing with a severe bone bruise,” C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said of Tatum on 98.5’s Zolak and Bertrand. “He’s day-to-day and he’s progressively gotten better each day. Yesterday, he went through all the protocols and did everything you should possibly do up to the last moment to try to play. He just wasn’t able to do it but he’ll go back at it again today and he’s in that day-to-day process right now.”
The Celtics are currently up 2-0 in the first-round series over the Magic. While they’re still favored over the No. 7 seed these playoffs, the series now shifts to Orlando for the next two games. If Tatum continues to be out and the Celtics are missing another one of their starters, it’s going to be difficult to keep picking up wins.
Mazzulla rolled with an eight-man rotation with Tatum out in Game 2. Al Horford entered the starting lineup as part of a double big look alongside Kristaps Porzingis. Then off the bench were Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet. But if Brown or Holiday are unable to go in Game 3, alongside Tatum’s doubtful status, the C’s will need to lean on their entire roster more for critical playoff minutes.
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