The Celtics may be extremely shorthanded on Sunday afternoon when they go for their fifth straight victory against the Portland Trail Blazers. Boston announced six players are on the team’s injury report for the matinee contest in Portland, including four members of the starting five.
Jaylen Brown had already been ruled out by the team due to a right knee posterior impingement. Three other starters were ruled as questionable including Jayson Tatum (right knee tendiopathy), Jrue Holiday (right shoulder impingement) and Kristaps Porzingis (return from illness conditioning). Reserve big man Xavier Tillman was also ruled out for the second straight game with a left knee joint sprain.
Sunday’s matchup against the Blazers is the front end of a back-to-back for Boston with the tougher game coming on Monday in Sacramento so some strategic rest staggering could be in play here. Porzingis has not played in a back-to-back all season and the same goes for reserve big man Al Horford so that duo could be alternate rest nights.
Holiday has played in seven straight games since returning from a mallet finger injury and has sat some back-to-backs this year as well. Tatum got a rest night last week in Boston’s win over the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden.
Boston will be going for a season sweep against the Blazers after beating them at TD Garden earlier this month. Portland is expected to be without DeAndre Ayton and Jerami Grant for the matchup. Former Celtics big man Robert Williams has already been ruled out after he underwent knee surgery this past week.
The Celtics and Blazers tip off at 6 p.m. on Sunday night in the second leg of a six-game road trip for Boston.
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