Celtics (almost) completely healthy ahead of tilt vs. Spurs
At one point decimated by COVID and nagging injuries, the Boston Celtics will be at their healthiest in nearly a full month when they play host to the San Antonio Spurs at TD Garden on Wednesday night.
Starting with the big addition back to the Boston lineup, the C’s will have Jayson Tatum back in action for the first time since Christmas Day following the 23-year-old’s second bout with COVID-19. The Celtics went 2-2 with Tatum unavailable, and are riding a two-game win streak following Jaylen Brown’s 50-burger against the Magic last Sunday.
Tatum, who put up 25 points in the team’s Christmas Day loss to Milwaukee, has averaged 25.6 points per game, along with a career-best 8.6 rebounds per game, through 33 games this season.
In addition to Tatum, the Celtics will also get big man Robert Williams III back in action after a toe injury kept him out of Sunday’s win over Orlando. Williams has posted a career-best 10.0 points and 8.9 rebounds per night through 28 games.
The Celtics’ official injury report has also listed Romeo Langford, Aaron Nesmith, and Jabari Parker as available.
But Wednesday came with the Celtics’ Payton Pritchard added to the league’s health and safety protocols, ruling him out for tonight’s contest. The second-year guard has averaged over 13 minutes off the bench per game, and averaged 10.5 points and shot 15-for-41 (36.6 percent) from the field during this recent four-game spell with the Celtics considerably undermanned.
Nevertheless, even with Pritchard out, this is the healthiest the Celtics have been as a team (and especially at the top of their roster) since their Dec. 13 win over the Bucks.
The Celtics dropped a 96-88 final to the Spurs earlier this season, but won their 2020-21 home meeting with San Antonio by a 143-140 overtime final. Overall, San Antonio has won eight of their last 10 road games against the Celtics.
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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
