Celtics Injury Report: Boston Could Be Down 3 Crucial Starters vs Rockets

The reigning champs will play the second night of a back-to-back slate on Friday.

Dec 17, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) shakes hands with center Kristaps Porzingis (8) during introductions prior to a game against the Orlando Magic at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images / Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics could be without three of their top six players against the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

Just a day removed from surviving the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 118-115 victory on Thursday, Boston has announced via its official X account that the three-time All-Star small forward Jaylen Brown and one-time All-Star center Kristaps Porzingis are once again questionable to suit up.

Former five-time All-Star big man Al Horford, who has started more games than Porzingis this year although he's nominally a backup whenever everybody is healthy, has already been ruled out against Houston. It makes sense for Boston to rest the 38-year-old on the second night of a back-to-back.

Being listed as questionable is technically an upgrade to both Brown and Porzingis, who sat out against Thursday. Head coach Joe Mazzulla swapped in forward Sam Hauser for Brown and Horford for Porzingis.

In the Timberwolves clash, Hauser scored 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field — all triple tries — along with three rebounds and two assists. Horford scored nine points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor, grabbed five rebounds, passed for four assists and blocked two shots.

Hauser is not the two-way force that Brown is, but he has developed into a high-level shooter and a very overqualified eighth man. This year, the 6-foot-8 vet is averaging 8.2 points on .435/.378/1.000 shooting splits, 3.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 steals.

Horford is far removed from his All-NBA prime at this point, and is not the athletic, lengthy rim protector or versatile scorer that the 29-year-old Porzingis is. Should both Horford and Porzingis sit out, it seems likely that Mazzulla will elevate reserve Neemias Queta to a starting center role, with floor-spacing big Luke Kornet serving as his backup. Queta logged 22 minutes against Minnesota behind Horford, scoring eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbing five rebounds.

In Thursday's game, four-time All-NBA power forward Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 33 points on 13-of-27 shooting from the floor (6-of-17 from deep) and 1-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe, dished out nine dimes, grabbed nine rebounds, and swiped three steals. For Minnesota, three-time All-Star power forward Julius Randle led the way with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field (5-of-7 from beyond the arc) and 4-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe, pulled down eight boards, passed for seven assists, and swiped a steal in 39:10.

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