After making the Eastern Conference Championship last year, President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge made the bold decision to bring back only four of the 15 players on the roster. A few of the new 11 are some of the most talented players in the game. Two of the biggest names are Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.
At this point everyone knows the story. Less than five minutes into opening night in Cleveland, Hayward suffered a gruesome injury and has been recovering from it ever since. It looked as if the season could be derailed, but a 17-game winning streak after an 0-2 start really changed everything. Since then, the talk throughout the year has been nothing more than one simple question: Will Gordon Hayward return for the playoffs? The closer the postseason gets, the more possible this looks, as Hayward himself just recently said he’s at about 70 percent. Some are rooting for him to be back, others think he should rest as much as he can and just come back fresh for next year. Regardless of what the right answer is, none of that really matters anymore with what’s now in front of the Celtics.
As the regular season winds down and they enter the home stretch, Boston is dealing with a plethora of injuries to important players. Irving, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and Daniel Theis will all miss some time. Against the Indiana Pacers, Smart tore a ligament in his thumb near the end of the game and now there is a chance he is unable to play again in 2018. Theis, who has been a key player off the bench for the Celtics, both offensively and especially defensively, has a torn meniscus and is missing the rest of the year as he’s opted to have surgery. On a somewhat good note, Irving, Horford, and Brown all should be fine with a little rest.
Horford is just going through an illness and is only missing a few games, so there is really nothing to be worried about there. Boston is very fortunate to have dodged a bullet with Brown, who could have really hurt himself recently. Against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Brown dunked the ball on a fast break but his momentum caused him to hang on the rim for too long, forcing him to fall flat on his upper back and around the neck area. The play, to the naked eye, looked like a spine injury, but luckily, it was only a concussion. Both Head Coach Brad Stevens and Brown himself have said that it was nothing more than a concussion and that it will only take about a week’s worth of rest.
The Celtics need a healthy Irving. It’s been known since last year that he might need knee surgery. During the same Indiana Pacers game in which Smart tore a tendon in his thumb, Irving left the game after a good first half for an unknown reason. It turns out it was just some knee soreness, which for anyone else would not be concerning, but due to the fact that Irving could eventually need surgery, it should be closely monitored. With the Toronto Raptors continuing to extend their lead in first place, it’s becoming clear the Celtics are going to have a tough time catching them. It might be more important for Boston to get healthy rather than chase the top seed, especially since it’s not Cleveland.
Celtics Feeling The Injury Bug
By By Dylan Porcaro
|
March 15, 2018