Kyrie Irving underwent a minor procedure on his knee Saturday to remove a “tension wire” that was placed there after the guard fractured his kneecap during the 2015 NBA Finals.
The Boston Celtics point guard is expected to return to basketball activities in three to six weeks, leaving his status for the NBA playoffs up in the air. The playoffs are slated to begin exactly three weeks from Saturday, with the C’s being all but locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
But while it might seem that the 26-year-old’s chances of returning for the Celtics’ playoff run are slim, there reportedly is some belief that he could return at some point depending on how far Boston advances, according to The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.
Finally some good news.
While the Celtics have gone 10-4 this season without Irving, they obviously will need their All-Star in order to make any sort of noise in the postseason. With Gordon Hayward and Daniel Theis already out for the season, and Marcus Smart’s status for the playoffs uncertain after undergoing surgery on his right thumb, the Celtics will more likely than not be shorthanded in their first-round series.
Boston has the talent to win a first-round series without Irving, but the C’s will need their star point guard back if they want to make a run at the NBA Finals.
