The Boston Celtics' turnaround has been one of the biggest stories of the season thus far. After floundering at the bottom of the standings, the team has found their identity as a tough-nosed defensive minded team. They have locked themselves a spot at the playoffs, but one question looms over their head: which players WON'T be available to play?
See, one of the teams that Boston might face during their playoff run are the Toronto Raptors, who play in Canada. The problem is that Canada's current rules require foreign individuals coming into the country to show proof of their vaccination status. Ergo, if the Celtics face the Raptors in the playoffs… all of their players have to be vaccinated against COVID-10.
That's not a big deal, though, right? Surely, all of the Celtics players have been vaccinated by now? Well… not quite. Ever since this topic was brought up, there has been speculation as to which players were unvaccinated. In particular, Al Horford and Jaylen Brown were two players rumored to not have been vaccinated yet, as they missed their last trip to Toronto.
On Friday, Horford cleared the air surrounding his vaccination status. In an article by The Boston Globe, the Dominican center stressed that Canada's protocols won't deter him from playing, and he has indeed gotten the jab. However, he stressed that this was a personal matter and that he won't be commenting on it further.
“It’s something I haven’t wanted to discuss,” Horford said. “I think with the Celtics, we made it clear we’re not going to discuss those things, and it’s a health matter, and we all respect everybody’s individual perspectives. That’s why I’m not going to get into it and talk about it. But I’m ready to go.”
Horford has previously shied away from commenting on his status. With this quote from Horford, though, Celtics fans can breathe a little easier. The center is one of the most important pieces of their defense, and missing him and Robert Williams (who is still nursing an injury) would be a death blow to the team.
The big question, however, is Jaylen Brown, who has still not many any comments on his vaccination status. The Celtics forward is arguably their second-most important player on offense. Brown has said that he's ready to go, but refused to go deeper with his statement. He cited his position as the NBA Player's Association Vice President as reason as to why he wouldn't want to divulge his status.
The Celtics currently hold the third seed in the Eastern Conference, with the Philadelphia 76ers right behind them. If they do fall to the fourth seed, they will likely face the Raptors, who are all but locked into their spot in fifth place. However, staying in the third seed would mean that the earliest they'll be able to face Toronto is the Eastern Conference Finals.
Luckily for the Celtics, they hold tiebreakers over the Bucks (who sit at second place) and the Sixers. A win in their final game against the Grizzlies will lock them into the third seed, at the very least. However, should they lose, they'll have to hope that Philly drops their final two games to keep their third seed status intact.
The Sixers have just as much incentive to avoid Toronto, too: Matisse Thybulle, the team's defensive ace, is under the same scrutiny after missing their latest trip to Canada.
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