The Boston Celtics announced some particularly brutal injury news ahead of Game 1 of their Eastern Conference finals series against the Miami Heat kicking off on Tuesday evening. The Celtics related that not only point guard Marcus Smart would miss the first game of the series due to a foot sprain sustained in Game 7 of the team’s series against the Milwaukee Bucks, but also Al Horford, who is now in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
It is unclear how long either will be out, but against a top-rated Heat defense, it will be tough for Boston to win even if the Heat choose to sit star point guard Kyle Lowry, who has been dealing with lingering hamstring issues since Miami’s second-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The good news? Yes, there is a little — ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that center Robert Williams III “had a couple good days of practice and should be able to play significant minutes in Game 1,” perhaps just in the nick of time after missing much of the last series to knee soreness.
Anonymous NBA scout, coach pick the Boston Celtics over the Miami Heat in 2022 East finals https://t.co/9YH7DPJfIL
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 17, 2022
Particularly so with Horford seen as likely out until after Game 2 on Thursday, per Woj.
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