Wednesday, November 6 - Wizards at Celtics
Pregame - C’s Host Washington’s Explosive Backcourt Sans Smart
BOSTON – Brad Stevens presented good news and bad news regarding Boston’s injury woes prior to tonight’s 7:30 tip-off against the Washington Wizards at TD Garden.
The good news: Amir Johnson, who twisted his ankle during Wednesday’s contest in Indiana, will be back in the starting lineup.
The bad news: Marcus Smart will not suit up tonight, missing his second straight game due to a sprained left big toe he suffered earlier in the week.
Stevens indicated yesterday that Smart was showing progress and would be a game-time decision tonight. However, when he was seen in the Celtics locker room wearing a walking boot prior to the game, it was immediately apparent what that decision would likely be.
“The ultimate factor in deciding if he can play or not is can he push off of it, and he couldn’t push off of it at all on Wednesday,” said Stevens. “He’s pushing off of it much better now, but there’s no reason to put extra stress on it by walking without a boot, so the boot is a conservative measure to make sure he doesn’t put extra weight on it as it’s healing.”
This is not the ideal night for Smart to be absent from the lineup, as the C’s are facing arguably the best backcourt tandem in the Eastern Conference. Guards Bradley Beal and John Wall are averaging a combined 46.1 points per game, nearly equaling their mere 47 years of combined age.
“It’s not ideal for anybody to have to play against those guys, those guys are really good players,” said Stevens.
“You want as many of your guys on hand as possible and obviously Marcus, with his defensive ability, and the way he’s impacted games is a guy that we’ hope to have, but he’s not there, so you play with who’s there and you try to play as well as you can and it’s a great opportunity for our other guards and the young guys that may get a crack at ‘em too.”
That means we may see more of rookies Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter on the floor tonight, as starters Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley will surely have their hands full.
- Taylor C. Snow
Starting Lineups
Celtics:
Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, Jared Sullinger
Wizards:
John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter Jr., Kris Humphries, Marcin Gortat