At Monday's morning shootaround, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said he didn't think another point guard in the NBA was playing as well as the Celtics' Kyrie Irving.
Monday afternoon, the Celtics released their injury report. And Irving was on it with a left quad contusion that will sideline him for Monday night's game.
The Celtics, already without Marcus Morris and Gordon Hayward, also listed Al Horford as questionable with a right knee contusion.
"His ability to split pick-and-rolls, you have to have great awareness of where he is at all times. He's so gifted in his ability to create shots," Hoiberg said of Irving before the news. "You can't get deflated when he makes tough, contested ones because he's going to do it. He makes the game look so easy."
The Celtics are 23-5 overall.
"They're so sound on both ends of the floor. They have great pace in their execution," Hoiberg said.
"Kyrie at point guard, it looks sometimes like he's playing out there by himself. He's getting other guys involved and making the right play. They have one of the better playmaking bigs in (Al) Horford. And they're really getting out on the break with (Jayson) Tatum, who leads the league in 3-point shooting, and Jaylen Brown, who has taken his game to the next level."
