The Boston Celtics have fallen behind in their race for the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed, and they'll have to start the climb back without one of their starters.
In what has been a theme throughout the season, Boston lost a starter Saturday when it ruled out Robert Williams III for Sunday's matchup with the New York Knicks at TD Garden. It will be the 37th missed game of the season for the 25-year-old, who suffered a left hamstring strain in the Celtics' season-worst loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
The majority of Williams' absences this season were due to the surgery that was performed on his left knee this offseason. He doesn't appear to be dealing with any ill effects from the procedure at this point in the season.
However, it's yet another injury that will prevent the Celtics from deploying their best starting five.
That unit, which consists of Williams, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Al Horford, was the NBA's best last season and spearheaded a run to the 2022 NBA Finals. In attempting to get back, the Celtics have only seen that unit play less than 100 total minutes on the season.
Boston had been at full strength coming out of the All-Star break, but will now have to revert back to watching head coach Joe Mazzulla tinker with lineups in an attempt to get back on track. The Celtics will start that trek at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
