The Celtics will be back at full strength on Thursday night for a highly anticipated tilt against the Miami Heat.
The team announced a clean injury report on Wednesday afternoon with Kristaps Porzingis (right knee inflammation) and Oshae Brissett (back spasms) removed after the duo missed Monday’s win over the Mavericks in Dallas.
Joe Mazzulla said on Wednesday afternoon that the entire team was able to practice on an off day in Miami. Porzingis played one of his best games of the season on Sunday night against Houston, posting 32 points and five blocks in Boston’s nine-point win. However, the team has been cautious with their star center on back-to-backs all year long as he has only played three sets of back-to-backs all year. The team has gone 10-2 in the 12 games he’s missed this year including five straight wins.
Boston is 18-4 this year when their normal starting five is intact, including a win over the Heat back in October in the Celtics home opener. Miami will be a different-looking team this time around after adding Terry Rozier to the mix via a trade with the Hornets on Tuesday in exchange for Kyle Lowry and a future first-round pick.
Rozier is expected to make his Miami debut on Wednesday night against the Grizzlies but the Heat could be shorthanded against the Celtics in other areas. Standout rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. is expected to miss the contest with a groin injury while another rotation player (Hayword Highsmith) is dealing with a foot injury. Miami could also be down players if they elected to rest some older veterans on the second half of their back-to-back after playing Memphis on Wednesday night.
The Celtics will look to improve to 3-0 on their road trip with the win on Thursday night in what should be their toughest test of the road swing.
“It’s fun. Every game is competitive,” Derrick White said of the matchup. “They’re always a good team and especially playing here it’s a lot of fun and a big challenge. So we’ll be ready to go.”
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