After playing just eight minutes in Thursday’s Game 5, they won against Miami heat, Boston Celtics Defender Malcolm Brogdon will miss Game 6 today due to a right forearm injury.
Following Boston’s Game 4 victory, Brogdon’s MRI revealed that he indeed had a torn tendon between his elbow and wrist, causing pain in his forearm. Brogdon didn’t play well, understandably, and was only able to fit in briefly in the first half of Game 5, missing both shots taken.
This is very unfortunate because this year’s sixth player in the league is able to provide microwave scoring and table attack when healthy. Brogdon was also one of the league leaders in three-pointers, so a loss on paper is a big blow. However, the reality is that Brogdon is not doing his best due to injury, so if he can’t go out on the pitch and play to his own standards, recovery and a break from play is best for the team and his long-term health.
Based on what has happened in this series, it’s easy to predict that if Joe Mazzulla decides to replace Brogdon’s place in the rotation, the minutes will likely go to Payton Pritchard. Pritchard had ups and downs in the season due to lack of opportunity, but he unexpectedly nodded within minutes of Game 1. Those minutes didn’t go particularly well, especially as the Heat relentlessly targeted Pritchard to switch him to Jimmy Butler.
It would be very interesting if Mazzulla threw a curve ball and gave Sam Hauser minutes. So far, it’s puzzling why Hauser didn’t get a chance despite being in rotation for most of the year. He is by no means a defender of the blockade, but he can defend himself. Offensively, he’s exactly the type of player that could force Miami to play fewer minutes in the zone. If Mazzulla wants to loop Erik Spoelstra and do something that is literally not expected of him, Hauser’s minutes would be the way to go.
The Celtics will face the Heat soon in Miami at 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT. The Celtics are down 3-2 and need a big defensive effort to win tonight and force Game 7, which would put them on the path potentially as the first NBA team (0-150) to come back from a 0-3 deficit. Given these conditions, today’s game is very important.
