The Celtics could be without Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta when they face the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night. Brown (left hamstring tightness) and Queta (non-COVID illness) are both probable.
Brown strained his hamstring in the preseason and has been dealing with some tightness in that hamstring over the past week, which he said affected him on Friday night. Still, he tallied a 27-point, 12-assist, 10-rebound triple-double, the fifth triple-double of his career.
“I’ve been dealing with some hamstring
tightness, so I didn’t have my bursts today, where they were switching the five onto me with Claxton, and he’s, in my opinion, way too far,” Brown said. “I should be able to just blow by him and do what I do, but I just didn’t have that acceleration tonight. Sometimes that can mess with your head a little bit, but I found other ways to be effective, trusted my teammates, rebounded the ball, and things like that.”
The Celtics will almost undoubtedly be exhausted when gameplay tips off on Saturday; they are playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and several key players logged heavy minutes in Friday’s double overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets: Brown played 46 minutes, Payton Pritchard played 40 minutes, Sam Hauser played 39 minutes, and Anfernee Simons played 37.
Neemias Queta, meanwhile, is once again dealing with an illness that triggered two-way rookie Amari Williams to take a last-second commercial flight from Portland, Maine, to New York City. Queta ended up playing and fouling out after 28 minutes of action, tallying 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Williams ended up playing 5 minutes in the win, making several key plays in overtime to help secure the Celtics’ 130-126 victory.
“Neemy wasn’t feeling great, so I flew in today,” Williams said. “Just kind of being ready for whatever — you don’t really know.”
In addition to Queta and Brown, Jayson Tatum (Achilles rupture repair) and Josh Minott (left ankle sprain) remain sidelined.
The Celtics face the Bulls for the second time this season
Last time the two teams faced off in early January, Anfernee Simons exploded for 27 points and the Celtics came away with a 115-101 victory.
The Celtics have won two straight games and 6 of their last 10 games, currently holding a 28-16 record, good for second-best in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls, meanwhile, have won three straight games and 5 of their last 10 games. They’re currently in the play-in mix with a 22-22 record.
The Bulls will be without Noa Essengue (left shoulder surgery), Zach Collins (right toe sprain), and Tre Jones (left hamstring strain).
Celtics-Bulls tips off at 8pm in Chicago.
