MIAMI — The Celtics will be at (mostly) full strength when they face the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
Jayson Tatum (right Achilles repair injury management) and Neemias Queta (right thumb sprain) are both back in the lineup after one-game absences that came on the second night of a back-to-back.
And, of note, Jaylen Brown is not on the injury report. Brown missed two games with left Achilles tendonitis, but returned to action on Monday night. Brown struggled in Monday’s loss to the Hawks, finishing
with 29 points on 9-29 FG with 6 turnovers, but downplayed the injury afterwards.
“Nah, everybody’s dealing with something — just some soreness,” he said. “Definitely want to make sure you stay healthy as much as possible & you don’t want to risk anything, but it’ll be fine going forward.”
Tatum has only missed two games since returning to the lineup on March 6th. He’s averaged 20.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.1 steals since his return, most recently exploding for 32 points in a win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.
The Celtics won’t be fully healthy, though.
Nikola Vucevic remains out after fracturing his right ring finger on March 6th. This will be his 13th straight absence. Ron Harper Jr. is questionable with an ankle sprain he suffered on Sunday night — he also missed Monday’s game dealing with that same injury.
How the Celtics, Heat stack up
The Celtics are 3-0 against the Heat this season, most recently coming away with a two-point win on February 6th. The Celtics are 50-25 and currently have a two-game lead over the New York Knicks for the second seed.
The Heat are 40-36 and currently have the 9th seed in the East. Miami has won just 3 of their last 10 games as they look to make a late push for the playoffs (they’re currently 3 games behind Atlanta for the 6th seed). The Heat are fresh off a 119-109 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Celtics, meanwhile, will look to bounce back from Monday’s loss to Atlanta and get the road trip back on track. After Wednesday’s game against the Heat, they’ll close things out with a match-up against the Bucks in Milwaukee on Friday.
Celtics-Heat will tip off at 7:30pm on Wednesday night in Miami.
