Celtics injury report: Entire starting lineup ‘questionable’ or worse

Some Celtics will play the Portland Trail Blazers today, but we don’t yet know which Celtics. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday all carry “questionable” labels heading to Portland, and Kristaps Porzingis is “out.”

The detailed list of starting roster deductions is a lot less scary than it could have been. Porzingis is the only one ruled out of tonight’s game, and it’s because of a right hamstring strain. Porzingis missed a couple of first nights of back-to-back games so Al Horford could sit the second night. Maybe that’s what’s happening here, as the Celtics play the Utah Jazz tomorrow evening. Porzingis has scored 22-25 points in five straight games – and is shooting nearly 50% from three in that span – so he deserves a night off.

The rest of the injuries are minor, which is why Tatum, Brown, White and Holiday are all questionable. It’s possible that they simply don’t know who will be healthy enough to dress, but it’s more likely that they haven’t decided who they want to give scheduled rest. Whoever doesn’t play tonight will probably play tomorrow, and vice versa.

Holiday is someone to watch, as he is 34 and has missed time in the past, but he is marked with “tendinopathy”, a synonym for tendinitis, which usually just means tendon pain. We’ll see, but I think it’s probably an off game for him as well.

If load management frustrates you, keep in mind that the Celtics are coming off the toughest stretch of the season. They have a rematch with the Phoenix Suns to come, so it is important to rest during these two matches if the players are tired.

We should expect more injury reports like this as the upcoming schedule is quite flexible. There are very few games against good teams left in the season, there are plenty of favorable matchups between those games, and Boston has an eight-game lead in the Eastern Conference. Boston wants to be fully healthy for the playoffs.

Depending on who is left out, Al Horford, Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard could all pull for starting spots. This spot is practically a guarantee for Horford, since Porzingis is officially not playing. Hopefully Pritchard gets a good chance in actual minutes, considering Boston plays in his home state of Oregon. The crowd still loves him there. The last time all starters didn’t play was in the final game of last year’s regular season, when Pritchard recorded a 30-point triple-double. He probably won’t do that if a few starters play, but it would be cool to see him go in front of his hometown crowd.

On the Blazers side, former Celtics Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams III will both sit out as they deal with long-term injuries. Shaedon Sharpe and Jabari Walker are also out, and Jerami Grant and Justin Minaya are also out. day by day. That should leave plenty of room for another ex-Celtic to cook. That’s right, folks: it’s Dalano Banton time.