Report: Avery Bradley Likely Out for Celtics for Rest of Season

by Jen Slothower on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 11:48PM

Avery Bradley has been gutting through the pain this postseason, but even that may not be enough now.

The defensive-minded Celtics guard is likely out for the rest of the season with lingering shoulder pain, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports.

Bradley's injured left shoulder is "highly likely to pop out again," Washburn said a source told him, and Bradley is "staring surgery in the face."

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said before Game 5 on Monday night that Bradley would need surgery, but there was still hope the guard would make it back for some playoff games. That appears to be out now, though, as the left shoulder is in bad shape, and Bradley's right shoulder has been tweaked, too, likely while he was overcompensating for pain in his other arm.

Bradley missed Wednesday night's loss to the Sixers, and Washburn said "the team's brass along with Bradley's representatives have decided it's too risky to play him for the remainder of the playoffs."

Bradley's shoulder issues have plagued him for the past few weeks. As well as missing Game 5 and Game 6 of Boston's series with the 76ers, he missed time in both Game 3 and Game 4 when his shoulder popped out.