On Thursday night, the Boston Celtics had to desperately fight to avoid losing to the historically horrible Detroit Pistons. While they trailed by 19 points at halftime, the C's roared back for the 128-122 win in overtime.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, a game with extra time means even less rest for their Friday night matchup with the Toronto Raptors. As a result, Boston's injury report is looking longer than usual for the second leg of the back-to-back:
#NEBHInjuryReport for tonight vs. TOR:
Jaylen Brown (low back contusion) – QUESTIONABLE
Jrue Holiday (right elbow sprain) – QUESTIONABLE
Al Horford (rest) – OUT
Kristaps Porzingis (left calf injury management) – DOUBTFUL
Jayson Tatum (left ankle sprain management) – QUESTIONABLE— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 29, 2023
Center Al Horford always misses one outing during a back-to-back, so there's no cause for concern there. Celtics star Jayson Tatum announced that he'd be questionable after beating the Pistons, making his listed injury unsurprising.
Fellow All-Star Jaylen Brown sat against Detroit but may return for Toronto and Jrue Holiday's questionable status is a new addition to the report. Lastly, the Celtics have been taking it easy with 2018 All-Star Kristaps Porzingis and seem to be resting him whenever they can.
The Celtics and Raptors have already met two times this season, with the C's winning both contests. Their first matchup was a 117-94 blowout while the second came down to the wire with Boston ultimately prevailing 108-105. While the Green Team is 24-6 with the best record in the league, the Raptors are 12-18 overall and 3-7 in their last 10 games.
As divisional foes, the Raptors typically play the Celtics hard no matter what. And if Boston does sit four of its five starters, this Eastern Conference showdown could be an uphill battle for the C's. However, if the comeback win over Detroit proved anything, it's that the 2023-24 Celtics have some fight in them.
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