Boston Celtics: ‘At least two’ key players are still unvaccinated, per report

Per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, an NBA source told him that “at least two frontline players” on the Boston Celtics are unvaccinated, putting their postseason ceiling into serious question.

If this is truly the case, fans of the franchise should dread a potential matchup with the Toronto Raptors in the postseason, which is a real possibility given the current playoff picture.

Toronto has had stricter mandates put into place since January 15th, making players who are unvaccinated ineligible to play in the city.

What we can gather from this report and several deflections from C’s players, President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens, and head coach, Ime Udoka, is that it is a legitimate concern that we may be not a full bill of health come playoff time should we draw our Canadian rivals.

The Sixers just found out their top perimeter defender in Matisse Thybulle is unvaccinated ahead of their match-up in Toronto, the guy who is typically tasked with guarding the opposition’s top perimeter player.

A critical blow that should worry C’s fans.

Right now, the Raptors and Sixers are set to be the playoff matchup, but the east is tighter than a hotel elevator and, if their All-Defensive player remains ineligible to compete, I’ll gladly take the Raps to upset Philly, meaning that there may not be a definitive path to an NBA title for Boston without seeing their northern rivals.

I am not writing this article to frown upon a player’s decision to be unvaccinated, but we who invest our time, money, and belief in the chance to watch a team that has so much potential to go on a deep playoff run deserve a shed of transparency.

Since all Boston Celtics fans can do is speculate… let’s speculate

The Boston Celtics have given us no choice here to look at context clues from this season. Who could be a part of the potential unvaccinated?

Let’s look into who was available to travel in their only visit to play the Raptors since the mandates went into effect after January 15th.

The C’s were without the services of four of their five starters in Robert Williams, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown for this meeting, all of whom did not travel.

On the other hand, all of the other main rotational players were available in Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Daniel Theis, Grant Williams, and the rest of the Celts’ bench.

According to statements from earlier in the season, Tatum confirmed that he was fully vaxxed. For the sake of knowing this, we can safely rule the All-Star wing out, though it is odd for him to have not traveled with the team.

Time Lord definitely has an alibi too, as he is recovering from a serious meniscus injury and, honestly, may not be fully healed by the first round anyways for his status of vaccination to matter or impact the team.

No shock that he did not travel considering the added context.

This leaves two players in Horford and Brown who have yet to disclose their vaccination status and, in turn, leave us with a series of broad statements.

Per James Herbert of CBS Sports, Horford was asked about the new restrictions in Canada and if it applies to him.

The big man seemingly shot down speculation by saying:

"“We’re clear on it. And I’ll be ready to play wherever.”"

Let’s take the vet at his word, as there’s no reason not to at this point.

The more concerning response was that of the former All-Star, Jaylen Brown, when asked about his vaccination status.

"“Last year I missed the playoffs. This year, from a competitive standpoint, I’m excited and ready to play against anybody. As a VP of the Players Association, it’s part of my job to respect privacy. You won’t hear me comment.”"

It could be his position of leadership in the Players Association to set a standard of respecting his fellow peers’ medical privacy or he could be deflecting because he’s unvaccinated.

If the Boston Celtics do indeed draw the Toronto Raptors come playoff time, then it could make this whole dominant regular season a fluke.

Imagine if the C’s find themselves down one of the Jays, and Big Al or Rob cannot return because this mandate holds them back?

The issue to me is not a matter of vaccination status–they have the right to do what they want with their bodies. Instead, however, it’s a lack of transparency and how this could be a disaster from a PR standpoint for the fans to not find out until the playoffs.

Let’s rip any bandaid off now and give Boston Celtics fans time to digest the news rather than be blindsided!