Celtics Won't Have Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker Against Thunder On Tuesday Night
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics will be without a pair of key players when they host the Thunder on Tuesday night. Both Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker are set to miss the tilt against Oklahoma City.
Boston ruled out both players Monday night; Tatum with a left ankle impingement and Walker with a left side strain. Tatum and his impingement have shown up on Boston's injury report in the past, but the forward has missed just one game since returning from COVID-19 in January. He's struggled with his shot as of late, hitting just 34 percent from the floor and 31 percent from three-point range in the last four games. Maybe an off day will get him out of this mini-funk,.
Walker suffered his injury during Sunday's loss to the Charlotte Hornets. He left the floor holding onto his side after contesting a Terry Rozier three-pointer, and though he did return, Walker said he was feeling a "weird" pain in his side after the game. The Celtics have a rematch with the Hornets on Wednesday, so we'll see if Walker can suit up for the second leg of Boston's back-to-back.
One encouraging aspect of Monday's injury report is that center Robert Williams has been upgraded to "questionable" for Tuesday's game. The center has missed six games because of left knee soreness, leaving the Boston frontcourt pretty thin.
While the Celtics will be shorthanded for Tuesday's tilt, the Thunder don't seem to be very interested in winning basketball games these days. Oklahoma City has lost 14 straight and is in full tank mode, losing all but three of those 14 contests by double figures.
The Celtics have dropped two straight and sit at 32-29 on the season, good for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
