UPDATE (6:20 p.m.): Al Horford will play in Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers.
ORIGINAL STORY: BOSTON — The Boston Celtics could be without an important member of their frontcourt Wednesday night, but there’s optimism that won’t be the case.
Al Horford was a surprising addition to the injury report Wednesday morning, getting listed as questionable with an illness for Game 2 of the C’s first-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens indicated Horford told the team Tuesday night he wasn’t feeling well, but that after sleeping through the night he felt much better.
“Last night (he) got sick,” Stevens said Wednesday evening. “Reported it right away, got a good night’s sleep, woke up feeling way better. I don’t know if it was something he ate, I don’t know what the deal was. Did not come to shootaround this morning, we kept him away and he got a good day’s rest and said he’s feeling pretty good right now, but he hasn’t been on the court yet.”
As for his current status, Horford is expected to try and play provided warmups go smoothly.
“Al walked in, I just got a chance to talk to him real briefly, he’s getting worked on in the training room,” Stevens said. “He’s going to try to give it a go, but he’ll go through warmups and figure it out.”
It’s no secret how different of a look the Celtics give opponents when Horford is not on the floor. As such, the Pacers are monitoring his status, but operating under the assumption he’ll play.
“We keep an eye on whether he’s going to play or not,” Indiana head coach Nate McMillan said. “I think it does change some of the things that they do out there. So we’ll keep our eye on it, it’s going to be a game time decision as far as if he plays or not.
“I do (think he’ll play) — we’re preparing for him to play,” McMillan added. “And if he’s not out there then we’ll have to make some adjustments.”
Tip from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET.
