Disclaimer: The Boston Celtics’ contest against the Washington Wizards on Thursday means literally nothing to their NBA Playoff seeding.
The Celtics are locked into the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed, and while they don’t know who they’re playing yet (either the Philadelphia 76ers or Indiana Pacers), nothing Boston does Thursday would impact that.
And with that said, the Celtics have decided to rest all five starters — Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum and Daniel Theis — along with key contributor Marcus Smart against Washington.
You can check out the Celtics laundry list-like injury report below:
#NEBHInjuryReport tomorrow vs. Washington:
Jaylen Brown (rest) – OUT
Gordon Hayward (rest) – OUT
Marcus Smart (rest) – OUT
Jayson Tatum (left ankle sprain) – OUT
Daniel Theis (right foot soreness) – OUT
Kemba Walker (left knee rehab) – OUT— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 12, 2020
The real question is: ‘How will the Celtics bench make out against the Wizards?’
Well, seeing as Washington, rather hilariously, has dropped behind two teams in the East’s seedings that aren’t even in the NBA bubble (Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls), the Boston bench may actually be able to give it a run.
It just won’t be with their starters, who will be sitting out with the NBA Playoffs in mind.