A handful of the Boston Celtics’ starters won’t be available for Monday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Kristaps Porzingis (tightness in his right hamstring) and Jrue Holiday (tendinopathy in his left knee) will both be watching the game in street clothes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Svi Mykhailiuk, a sharpshooting reserve, is also absent due to personal matters.On Sunday night, the Cs had declared Porzingis out while labeling Holiday and the remaining starting five as questionable.

As it happens, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum will all be playing in Portland.

Al Horford and Sam Hauser will probably be in Monday’s starting lineup in addition to those three players. This season, both players have filled in as starters. This season, Horford has made 24 starts, standing in for Porzingis while the latter is unavailable. Hauser has made six trips out there for tipoff.

Being missing for the evening is not unusual because Porzingis routinely misses one game in a “back-to-back.” In Utah, he’ll probably be back on the floor on Tuesday night. Holiday has only missed five games this season, making his absences even more unusual.

The fact that Boston is a little shorthanded could provide deeper rotation players like Xavier Tillman and Jaden Springer some extra playing time as well as additional opportunity for bench regulars like Luke Kornet and Payton Pritchard.

For the first time since the 2021–2022 season, Pritchard will take the court in his native Oregon. When he previously visited Moda Center, he scored 19 points in a decisive Celtics victory over the Blazers.

Any additional opportunity for Kornet to improve on his 14-point performance against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday would be welcomed.

At last month’s trade deadline, Tillman and Springer—Springer from Philadelphia and Tillman from Memphis—joined the Celtics. As of now, neither of the new Cs has been able to break through Joe Mazzulla’s rotation. While Springer has averaged 3.3 minutes in six outings, Tillman has averaged 12.3 minutes during his four games.

An extended look at the two might be provided to fans at a Monday night League Pass game in Portland.

If just to watch the Celtics potentially win 50 games this season, it could be worthwhile to tune in.