The Boston Celtics might be shorthanded for a few games if they meet the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
The Celtics' team vaccination status recently was called into question when Boston made a trip north of the border March 28. The C's were without four usual starters for that overtime loss, though Robert Williams III's absence was due to a torn meniscus injury that will keep him sidelined for a few more weeks.
Boston team officials have declined to confirm or deny the roster's 100% vaccination rate. But according to The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn, at least two important Celtics players have not received the shots necessary to enter Canada.
"What could derail this season, however, is the team entering the playoffs without all players vaccinated," Washburn wrote in a column published Sunday. "The Celtics refuse to say publicly whether all their players are vaccinated, as some teams have declared. And according to an NBA source, at least two frontline players are not vaccinated, which would prevent those two players from participating in road games in a playoff series against the Toronto Raptors."
Following the Celtics' demolition of the Washington Wizards on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden, both Al Horford and Jaylen Brown failed to provide answers that made their vaccination status abundantly clear. We also don't know if Williams is vaccinated, but recovery from knee surgery is going to keep him out of Round 1 anyway.
If the season ended Sunday night, the Celtics would play one of the winners of the play-in tournament in the first round and not the Raptors. But with the NBA regular-season schedule running through the weekend, the East standings are very much subject to change.
