The Celtics will face an extremely shorthanded Golden State Warriors team on Wednesday night at TD Garden.
Nikola Vucevic will miss his sixth straight game as he recovers from a right fing finger fracture he suffered last month, but the rest of the Celtics are available. Jayson Tatum will play in his sixth game of the season after making his return from an Achilles rupture earlier this month; so far this season, he’s averaging 20 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game.
The Warriors, meanwhile,
continue to be extremely shorthanded. Jimmy Butler is out for the season after tearing his ACL, while Steph Curry has been sidelined since before the All-Star break as he deals with a knee injury.
Al Horford (right calf strain), Moses Moody (wrist), and Seth Curry (left adductor strain) will all miss Wednesday’s match-up. Quenten Post (right foot injury management) and LJ Cryer (left hamstring injury management) are questionable, while Gary Payton II is probable with a left tibial contusion.
Kristaps Porzingis has dealt with illness on and off throughout the year, but he’s expected to play on Wednesday. The former Celtics big man has only appeared in 22 games this season.
How the Celtics, Warriors stack up
The Celtics and Warriors have faced off once this season — in January at the Chase Center — and Boston came away with an 11-point win. Both Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis played in that game, with the latter making his Warriors debut.
The Celtics are 45-23, and are 3.5 games behind the Detroit Pistons for first place in the Eastern Conference.
The Warriors are 33-35 and have the 9th-best record in the Western Conference. With Curry sidelined, they’ve dropped 7 of their last 10 games, and are currently fighting for positioning in the play-in tournament.
Celtics-Warriors tips off on Wednesday night at 7pm.
