The Boston Celtics let a 18-point lead slip away on Saturday night, allowing the Charlotte Hornets to manufacture a fourth quarter comeback that would lead to their third straight loss. A game that saw Celtics superstar point guard Kyrie Irving lead the team with 31 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals, an already shorthanded Boston squad may have two more names on their injury report prior to Sunday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.
In the second quarter, Celtics rookie center Robert Williams III (who was making his first career start on Saturday) injured his lower back on a hard fall while second-year forward Jayson Tatum took a spill in the fourth quarter. Williams, who was diagnosed with a lower back contusion at halftime, wouldn’t return to the game.
Tatum, like Williams, is currently being evaluated by the team’s medical staff.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens would add that while Williams managed to make it to the team bus under his own power, that the big man could be out along the same length of time that shooting guard Jaylen Brown missed last season after suffering a back bruise against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Brown missed six games over a span of two weeks as he recovered from his injury.
In two weeks, the playoffs will be right around the corner for Boston.
Hopefully, the injury prognosis looks much better for Tatum, who only made five of his 17 field goal attempts (and two of his seven three-point attempts) against Charlotte, scoring just 12 points in 37 minutes. It was one of Tatum’s worst outings of the season and with the forward in an extended shooting slump, he’ll need all the game reps he can get before the postseason in order to reestablish his rhythm.
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