Jrue Holiday ruled out of Celtics clash with the Orlando Magic

Jrue Holiday has been ruled out of Friday’s in-season tournament game against the Orlando Magic. The veteran guard is dealing with a sprained right ankle. Holiday entered Friday morning listed as probable on the team’s injury report but has been downgraded twice throughout the day.

Boston currently sits top of the in-season tournament “East Group C,” having won both of their games thus far. Their contest against the Magic will be their third of four games, and a win will put them in prime position to qualify for the next round.

However, Orlando has looked vastly improved to begin the season — they have a top-three ranked defense and have won 10 of their 15 games to begin the season.

Holiday’s presence will be a big miss. However, Holiday has struggled to reach his usual heights on offense over the past few games. He is averaging 7.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on 30.8% shooting from the field and 27.3% from 3-point range in his last three outings for the Celtics. As such, it makes sense for Boston to rest one of their key players.

Without Holiday in the rotation, Joe Mazulla will be running a double-big lineup, with Al Horford entering the starting rotation, as reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

The Magic have won their last three contests against the Celtics, which will likely ensure they’re confident heading into Friday’s game. However, Boston’s roster has undergone some serious surgery in recent months and should be better suited to dealing with the Magic’s size and physicality.

Holiday’s absence isn’t ideal, but it’s better to let him rest now and have him return close to full health than continue risking his fitness so early in the season. It also helps that Boston’s roster is deep enough to withstand the absence of a core starter, with Derrick White more than capable of scaling his production level to help ease some of the talent drop-off. Such is the team’s embarrassment of riches.