For some, the last week of the regular season is a bore. For others, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime to make a mark and stick with a team or in the league period. JD Davison might be getting that opportunity tomorrow night in the Boston Celtics’ rematch against the Toronto Raptors as a slew of players are listed as questionable on the injury report.
Celtics Injury Report vs. TOR:
Malcolm Brogdon – Low Back Pain – QUESTIONABLE
Danilo Gallinari – Left Knee ACL Repair – OUT
Payton Pritchard – Left Heel Pain – QUESTIONABLE
Marcus Smart – Left-Side Neck Spasm – QUESTIONABLE
Derrick White – Left Ankle Sprain – QUESTIONABLE— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) April 6, 2023
Marcus Smart missed last night’s win against the Raptors with that left-side neck spasm while Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White suited up. Both put in strong efforts, with Brogdon leading the team in scoring off the bench to secure the No. 2 seed for the Celtics.
While Brogdon has missed a few games here and there with back pain, Derrick White actually twisted his ankle last night on a hard and speedy drive to the basket. White hasn’t missed any games at all this season and is the only Celtic to appear in every contest this year. While it would be cool for him to hit all 82, it would also be cool for him to not limp into the playoffs. The ankle injury didn’t seem overly serious, especially since he didn’t sub out after initially being in a lot of pain. Him not being outright ruled out is a great sign.
Now with just two games left in the season (and with Boston hitting the over of 55 wins from its preseason line), the Celtics can afford to take things easy. We’ll see plenty of JD Davison, hopefully some Payton Pritchard, Mike Muscala, Grant Williams, Luke Kornet and more getting an uptick in minutes.
Maybe.
Joe Mazzulla admitted that he does like winning, which explains why Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum (as well as Al Horford and Robert Williams) are nowhere to be found on the injury report. Perhaps they’ll play a light evening tomorrow night and take Sunday off. Last year, the Celtics opted to preserve their momentum and shore up seeding on the last day of the year, which ultimately led to them having Game 7 on their home court in the second round.
This year, they’ve already wrapped up the second seed, so we’ll have to wait and see how Joe approaches the final home game of the year. Before then, though, it would be nice for a psychological advantage against a potential first-round opponent to sweep this mini series against the Raptors with a win tomorrow night.
The Celtics will take on the Raptors tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. ET at the TD Garden.
