Celtics Clear Jaylen Brown for Action vs. Sixers

The Philadelphia 76ers aren't the only Eastern Conference playoff contenders to start getting healthier after an injury-riddled start to the season. On
Celtics Clear Jaylen Brown for Action vs. Sixers
Celtics Clear Jaylen Brown for Action vs. Sixers /

The Philadelphia 76ers aren't the only Eastern Conference playoff contenders to start getting healthier after an injury-riddled start to the season. On Wednesday, the Sixers are set to face the Boston Celtics, who are looking forward to having their entire roster healthy and available.

Heading into the matchup, the Celtics had just one player listed on the injury report. Jaylen Brown, who's been battling a hamstring injury, was listed as questionable heading into Wednesday night's matchup.

While his hamstring is considered to be fully healed, the Celtics have been managing Brown's minutes and considered having him sit out for injury management purposes. However, Brown will get the green light to go on Wednesday, according to Boston's head coach, Ime Udoka.

"[We're] one hundred percent," Udoka said before Wednesday's game. "[It feels] good, for the sixth time in 22 games. I'm obviously happy with it."

Although the Celtics will have their entire roster available against the Sixers, Udoka made it clear that some guys, specifically Jaylen Brown, could have a minutes restriction on Wednesday depending on how the game plays out.

"We're still monitoring some," Udoka said. "We've extended his stretches to eight-minute stretches now. We're trying to cap it around the 32 number. That'd be ideal for us, but he has the leeway to go a little longer. He kind of went from 24 to 28, so we've gone with six, seven-minute, and now eight-minute stretches. At the same time, he's feeling much better, and if need be, we'll leave him out there a little longer to try and win the game."

On the other end, the Sixers will have most of their roster available, excluding Ben Simmons and Paul Reed. While a couple of their guys could also see their minutes in check on Wednesday night, the 76ers are fortunate to have some continuity as the season continues to play out.

The Sixers and the Celtics are set to tip-off at 7:30 pm est. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.


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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA