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WALTHAM, Mass. – Just when things were starting to look up for the Boston Celtics on the injury front, they may have taken another hit Tuesday afternoon.
Avery Bradley did not participate in Tuesday’s practice due to lingering soreness in his right shoulder. He is scheduled to be evaluated later Tuesday afternoon by the team doctor, Dr. Brian McKeon.
“He told me he’s very sore today,” Brad Stevens revealed of Bradley, “but he said he’s been that way since training camp started.”
The coach added that Bradley “anticipated” being available for Wednesday night’s matchup against Chicago, while Isaiah Thomas said with a smile, “It’s national TV. He’s definitely going to play.”
However, there is some cause for concern in regard to this development. Bradley is experiencing consistent pain in his shooting shoulder – a shoulder that the guard has had surgically repaired in the past.
Bradley underwent surgery on his right shoulder on July 9, 2012 and did not return to action until Jan. 2 of the 2012-13 season, nearly six months after the surgery. The procedure was believed to have corrected all issues within the shoulder. However, the fact that Bradley, who owns a very high pain tolerance, is feeling enough pain to see the team doctor is a bit of a red flag.
Although early indications are that Bradley will not miss any time, including Wednesday’s rematch with the Bulls, the Celtics are well equipped to fill in for any potential absence.
Marcus Smart, who Stevens has referred to as the team’s “sixth starter” since the start of training camp, returned to practice Monday afternoon after missing the first three games of the season with a left ankle injury. Stevens did not rule out the possibility of Smart starting in place of Bradley Wednesday night if Bradley is unable to play.
“Yeah, he might do that,” Stevens said.
Boston’s other leading options would be to start either Gerald Green or Terry Rozier alongside Isaiah Thomas in the backcourt. Green, however, is dealing with an upper respiratory infection, though he said he will be ready to play against Chicago.
Rozier would be an interesting option. While Boston is extremely undersized when both Thomas and Rozier are on the floor, it has been very effective with that duo. Thomas and Rozier have shared the court for 31 minutes this season and the C’s have outscored their opponents by 10 points during that time while shooting 56.0 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from long range.
Thomas believes that their success has hinged upon Rozier taking charge of the offense.
“I try to just let him bring the ball up and make the plays, so he can gain more and more confidence,” said Thomas. “I come off the ball a little bit when he’s in the game. When we do play together – we’re basketball players, so we know how to work to each other’s strengths.”
The same can be said for the regular starting backcourt of Bradley and Thomas. Thomas is a downhill point guard who can create open shots for Bradley, who is the league’s most accurate bulk 3-point shooter through three games. As a team, Boston has shot 47.3 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from long range while that duo has been on the floor.
The Celtics would love to maintain those numbers while maintaining their starting backcourt Wednesday night against the Bulls. However, Bradley’s availability is to be determined as he and the team await feedback after his shoulder examination this afternoon.