The Celtics will play its third game in four days when it travels to Cleveland on Monday night. The Celtics played against the Knicks on Sunday night while the Cavs has win two of its last three games.
Celtics vs. Cavaliers injuries: 2 Questionable, 2 Out
The New York Knicks won their ninth consecutive game Sunday night, edging the Boston Celtics 131-129 in double overtime.
Boston was led by Jayson Tatum, who scored 40 points and grabbed 11 boards and dished out six assists.
Yesterday, Tatum’s shooting struggles continued. The MVP frontrunner played 49 minutes in Boston’s double-overtime loss.
The All-Star has a 42.5 percent field goal percentage and a 28.3 percent three-point percentage over the course of his last six games. The Red Sox have dropped three of their last four games. The C’s have a tough road trip ahead of them as they play in Cleveland in the second game of a doubleheader.
After spending a large portion of the season with the best record in the NBA, Boston has lost three straight and is now 1 1/2 games behind Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference.
Additionally, starting center Robert Williams III (left hamstring tightness) and backup guard Malcolm Brogdon (right ankle soreness) were both unavailable for the Celtics.
According to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, Celtics’ coach Joe Mazzulla said on Sunday that Williams could be out for the next 7-10 days with a strained left hamstring.
Williams may be out for at least four games at this point. Williams’ minutes will be shared by Grant Williams, Luke Kornet, and Mike Muscala, according to Mazzulla.
Brogdon (ankle) did not play on Sunday against the Knicks, making it two games in a row he has missed. At this time, his status for Monday’s game against the Cavaliers is uncertain.
After a slow start to the season, Cleveland ripped off seven straight victories between the end of January and the middle of February before the All-Star break. However, they lost four of their next five games, one of which was last week’s matchup with Boston.
They were able to get back on track with a 114-90 victory over Detroit on Saturday behind a dominant performance. The Cavaliers got contributions from all over the court, as Darius Garland scored 21, Donovan Mitchell added 20, and Evan Mobley had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
- Donovan Mitchell – Questionable
Mitchell suffered a sprained finger in the third quarter, but he is still expected to play on Monday.
After leaving Saturday’s game against the Pistons with an injury, Mitchell came back in and played for another 24 minutes, scoring 20 points (8-17 FG). The problem may have worsened after the game, prompting Cleveland to consider giving the dynamic shooting guard a night off to recover.
Possible candidates for larger roles include Caris LeVert, Danny Green, Ricky Rubio, and Cedi Osman.
