* Tonight on TNT: Celtics vs. Timberwolves (8 ET)

The Boston Celtics have been proving all season they can succeed even when a significant player goes down. From losing Gordon Hayward in the season-opening game to injuries that have put All-Stars Al Horford and Kyrie Irving on the sideline, the Celtics more often than not have made it work in 2017-18.

Such was the case on Monday night, when Irving missed Boston’s eventual 105-89 drubbing of the Chicago Bulls because of his left knee. Irving and the Celtics take on the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight, a game he says he’ll be playing in. In addition to that, Irving also talked yesterday about how this season has put an extra chip on his shoulder, writes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald:

“I’m in. I’m in for (tonight),” he said, adding that he felt good during practice.

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The Celtics would obviously still like to finish the regular season strong, and there is that top seed prize to be chased. But Irving said another factor has made this an interesting year.

“I would say it’s pretty unique,” he said. “I think that probably from the outside expectations it makes it pretty unique, because obviously losing one of our primary pieces in Gordon, I don’t think anyone knew what the landscape was actually going to look like going forward. And I think that it was our job to kind of fill that void as best we can, and it afforded a lot of opportunities for our young guys to play significant minutes as well as roles that I don’t think they necessarily envisioned going into the season.

“Gordon’s a huge piece, and when we lost him, I think all hell broke loose a little bit. Just like, ‘What are they going to look like?’ And then I think a lot of guys took that personal and wanted to come out and prove something not only to the rest of the league but to themselves that they’re capable of doing it. And it only positions us even greater for the future.”

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