Boston Celtics get hit hard by injury bug

The Boston Celtics went from being a pretty healthy team to having to rely on rookies and a few veteran bench guys to close out the season.  Can they get healthy in time for the playoffs?

What an insane 24 hours for the Boston Celtics.  Last night, the team went into the Garden against the Indiana Pacers and they were pretty healthy.  Yeah they were down Gordon Hayward (obviously), Al Horford and Jaylen Brown, but they had enough to compete.  Then Kyrie Irving didn’t come out to start the second half, Daniel Theis tore a meniscus, and Marcus Smart may now need thumb surgery.

What the heck is going on?

It’s the nature of any sport, injuries can strike anytime and can completely decimate a team.  The Celtics are cutting it close with the playoffs looming, but they should be pretty healthy when the regular season ends. My real concern is Marcus Smart, who dove for a loose ball and injured his thumb.  I know if anyone can play through an injury it’s Smart, but he needs to be on the court for this team.

Kyrie’s knee doesn’t really bother me much, but Daniel Theis’ does.  He was having such a good rookie season and was really a big difference maker for this team off the bench.  Having Greg Monroe on the team is really pivotal now.  I’ve seen Monroe get better each game, but he’s going to have to do a little more for this team with Theis out.

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I’ll never count the Celtics out, especially given who their coach is

However, all these injuries in such a short amount of time are kind of concerning.  It’ll be up to Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris, and Terry Rozier to be the veteran leaders until everyone else gets back.  I trust Morris to really be the leader for these young guys.  We’ve seen what Rozier can really do in that starting spot, now it’s time to unleash Jayson Tatum and let him take control as your number one option.

Next: The Celtics season rests on Kyrie Irving's knees

It’s going to be an interesting finish to the regular season, get ready guys.