Isaiah Thomas doesn’t believe his ankle injury will prevent him from playing Thursday night, and neither does Danny Ainge.
The Boston Celtics president of basketball operations said Wednesday morning he fully expects to have his point guard on the court when the C’s look to stave off elimination in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks.
“Isaiah’s a go if he had a cast on his foot,” Ainge said in an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich.” “But yeah, I’m almost certain that Isaiah will be playing Game 6.”
Thomas suffered what the team called a mild left ankle sprain Tuesday night during the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ 110-83 loss in Game 5. He did not return to the game — though, with the score being what it was, he likely wouldn’t have played for much longer anyway — but was adamant after the game that he’ll be good to go for Thursday night.
“I’m great,” Thomas, who scored a season-low seven points in the loss, told reporters. “Ready for Game 6. I’ll play no matter what. I’m not going to sit out.”
Celtics guard Avery Bradley, meanwhile, remains unlikely to return Thursday after missing the last four games with a strained hamstring.
“I would say it’s a long shot,” Ainge said. “I haven’t talked to Avery since we left town the other day. He stayed back (in Boston); he still had some swelling in the hamstring. Listen, we need Avery really bad for a lot of reasons, but I think that we just can’t risk that unless he just shows me that he’s 100 percent.”
The Celtics trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. If they win Thursday night at TD Garden, the series would shift back to Atlanta for a decisive Game 7 on Saturday night.
Thumbnail photo via Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports Images
