Two of the best teams in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, will play each other on Tuesday night. The Celtics are in first place in the Eastern Conference, with a lead of 1 1/2 games over the Bucks.
Updates on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown’ injury status
The Celtics are riding a four-game winning streak into Tuesday’s matchup despite the recent absences of key players.
Even though Jaylen Brown (face contusion), Marcus Smart (ankle injury), and Malcolm Brogdon (groin injury) were unable to play, the Boston Celtics still managed to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 119-109 on Sunday at TD Garden (Achilles soreness). It’s possible that neither Brown nor Smart will be back until after the All-Star break.
Smart’s right ankle injury will keep him out of action for another game. As Boston’s last game before the All-Star break is on Wednesday night against the Pistons, he will get his next opportunity to play.
The Celtics could be playing with a depleted lineup Tuesday against the Bucks, who are only 1.5 games back in the Eastern Conference standings from first place because of Boston’s absence of several regular starters.
Brown’s status will be updated next week, the Celtics said, as reported by Jay King of The Athletic.
The Celtics haven’t officially ruled out the possibility that his absence will extend past the All-Star break, but that seems likely.
Although he was sick with a non-COVID illness before Friday’s game against the Hornets, Tatum ended up playing and is questionable to play tonight.
In the first of a back-to-back, however, he is likely to sit out. It is unclear if president of basketball operations Brad Stevens’ stated plan to rest Tatum on Wednesday against the Pistons would change if Tatum were benched on Tuesday.
Grant Williams (elbow) and Sam Hauser (minors) could get more playing time if Tatum can’t go against the Bucks.
After beating the Clippers on the road 119-106 on Friday, Milwaukee’s current winning streak has reached 10 games. It’s the longest winning streak for the franchise since the 2019-20 season, when they won 18 in a row.
Having scored 35 points in Milwaukee’s victory over the Clippers, Antetokounmpo was named the Eastern Conference’s Most Valuable Player for Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game. The Bucks’ star player broke a streak of 11 consecutive double-doubles.
His right knee is still giving him trouble, but by Tuesday he should be fine.
Bucks head coach Mike Budenhozler was quoted by The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn as saying that Crowder will miss Tuesday’s game against the Celtics and Thursday’s game against Chicago.
Crowder is scheduled to be evaluated between now and Milwaukee’s next game on December 24 against the Heat.
An injury to the medial collateral ligament Because of his illness, Portis will miss another game. Even though the veteran forward took part in some of Monday’s practice, it appears that he will be out for the rest of the season with an injury.
Connaughton is expected to play despite having calf pain in his left leg.
Since late November, Connaughton hasn’t missed a game due to a calf injury, so it’s likely that he’ll be able to play on Tuesday. He has been held to under 10 points in half of his last seven games, averaging 8.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 27.4 minutes per game.
