WALTHAM, Mass. — Less than a week ago, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said he was knocking on wood while thinking about how nice it was to have 13 healthy players for a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On Monday, the coach talked about rookie Guerschon Yabusele promptly returning on a plane from what was to be an extended G-League tour with the Maine Red Claws, and rookie Semi Ojeleye playing some center for the Celtics "a la the summer league stint."
The past [...]
WALTHAM, Mass. — Less than a week ago, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said he was knocking on wood while thinking about how nice it was to have 13 healthy players for a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On Monday, the coach talked about rookie Guerschon Yabusele promptly returning on a plane from what was to be an extended G-League tour with the Maine Red Claws, and rookie Semi Ojeleye playing some center for the Celtics “a la the summer league stint.”
The past five days have not been kind.
First, it was Jaylen Brown taking a scary fall in Minnesota that put him in the NBA’s concussion protocol. Then Al Horford woke up ill Sunday morning and was ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers. Then Kyrie Irving failed to come out from halftime after his left knee acted up, and Marcus Smart sustained a thumb injury diving for a loose ball in the third quarter.
On Monday, things got worse as the knee injury Daniel Theis suffered late in the 99-97 loss was determined to be a torn meniscus. Stevens said Theis will likely be sidelined for the rest of the season.
“I’ve never been in a season that’s been like this,” Stevens said on Monday. “Obviously, it started right out of the gate this way with Gordon [Hayward's injury on opening night]. The rest of the year we’ve dealt with a lot of small, week-to-week, or couple-of-weeks-out things. This is, obviously, a big hit with Theis’ injury — no question.”
Irving and Brown will likely be out for at least a few games. Horford and Smart are uncertain for Wednesday night’s game against the Washington Wizards at TD Garden — with Smart potentially out longer.
“It sucks,” Terry Rozier said of the dramatic reversal of fortune. “There’s nothing you can do about it. But it comes in bunches. We had five, six people out today. It comes out of nowhere.”
The Celtics could be without Irving for up to a few weeks after Stevens said Irving’s knee was about the same Monday as it was when he was ruled out for the second half Sunday night. Irving said after the game a cautious approach might be prudent in order for him to avoid making the injury, which the team is calling “general knee soreness,” something that requires a surgical remedy.
“We’ve said if we need to rest, or if the knee becomes an issue, automatically everything stops and we go from there,” Stevens said. “What we’re really focused on now is making sure that knee feels as good as possible heading into April."
The Celtics have nine games left in March — including a four-game West Coast trip.
“It’s definitely unfortunate,” Marcus Morris said of the onslaught of bad news. “But it’s the NBA. There are a lot of games, a lot of wear and tear on guys’ bodies. It’s why you have 15 players on the roster.”
Morris said the Theis injury especially “hurt” because of the way Theis had worked into such an important role, averaging 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds off the bench while showing he could defend both the post and the perimeter.
“Just an incredible reliability and energy,” Stevens said. “You really feel for him. He came in knowing he could play, but maybe not expecting to have the kind of season he had.”
The coach said the team may need some “tweaks” offensively and defensively up front as Greg Monroe and Morris both see increased time, while Ojeleye could play center when the Celtics go small. Rozier will move into a major role in the backcourt with Irving and Smart on the shelf and Shane Larkin restricted to 15-17 minutes with his knee injury.
Stevens dismissed the probability of signing anyone from the outside with the roster at a maximum 15 contracts.
“That’s probably unlikely,” he said. “Obviously, we like the guys who are here. They have put in a lot of sweat equity. We haven’t had those discussions.”