On the road again. The Boston Celtics are on the road again. Willie Nelson would be proud. After a seven-game homestand, the Celtics have finally departed TD Garden. On Friday night, they will be in Florida for a game against the Miami Heat—their last game against the Heat this season.
But as the Celtics stick firmly in the second seed in the East, Miami is battling in the Play-In Tournament. They are only one game behind the eight seed, which would earn them two chances to advance in the playoffs. However, they are also only 1.5 games up on the Chicago Bulls for the 10 seed, which would mean they would be on the road for their Play-In game.
Here is the Celtics injury report for their game against the Heat on Friday, March 14.
Celtics injury report vs. Heat on Friday, March 14
- Jaylen Brown OUT (right knee posterior impingement)
- Al Horford AVAILABLE (left big toe sprain)
- Kristaps Porzingis OUT (illness)
- Jayson Tatum AVAILABLE (right knee tendinopathy)
- Derrick White AVAILABLE (left knee contusion)
Heat injury report vs. Celtics on Friday, March 14
- Alec Burks OUT (back)
- Nikola Jovic OUT (hand)
- Dru Smith OUT (
In their first game outside of home in roughly two weeks, the Celtics have filled up the injury report.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are both questionable to play on Friday night against the Heat. Tatum is listed on the injury report with right knee tendinopathy, while Brown is listed with a right knee posterior impingement.
On top of that, Derrick White is also on the injury report, as he’s dealing with a left knee contusion. He is questionable to play.
Al Horford’s left big toe sprain is back, but he’s still listed as probable to play. But with Boston having another game on Saturday (against the Brooklyn Nets), Horford will only play in one.
Lastly, Kristaps Porzingis is still on the injury report, listed as questionable with the same illness that has held him out for seven straight games now.
For the Heat, Alec Burks is out due to a back issue, and Nikola Jovic is out after sustaining a fractured second metacarpal on his right hand at the beginning of March.
Dru Smith remains out after tearing his Achilles at the end of December. He had successful surgery to repair the tear, but he’s out for the rest of the season.
Projected starting lineups for Celtics vs. Heat
This is likely what the Celtics will roll with:
- Jrue Holiday
- Baylor Scheierman
- Sam Hauser
- Al Horford
- Luke Kornet
Here is what the first five for the Heat could look like:
- Davion Mitchell
- Tyler Herro
- Andrew Wiggins
- Bam Adebayo
- Kel’el Ware