The world’s injury bugs have not been kind to the Boston Celtics.
Jae Crowder, Al Horford, Kelly Olynyk and Marcus Smart have all missed time, and now Isaiah Thomas seems slated to miss some time with a groin injury for which he needed an injection, per Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com:
Danny Ainge on @Toucherandrich: Isaiah Thomas got a PRP injection for groin injury yesterday. Hinted he's unlikely to play vs Raptors.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) December 8, 2016
Boston’s offense goes from scoring 108.9 points per 100 possessions with Thomas on the floor, to pumping in around 104.3 without him, according to NBA.com. So his absence is a concern.
But the Celtics will improve on defense without him. That’s always been the trade-off when starting Thomas and making him such a huge part of your team. He works his butt off, but at the end of the day, he is 5’9″ and has limitations.
Still, the Celtics won’t be better overall without him. It’s tough to tell how Terry Rozier or Smart, or even Avery Bradley, will defend when they are asked to be the primary ball-carrier on the offensive end.
Getting Thomas healthy, of course, is the main priority. It’s a long season, and the Celtics are only one-quarter of the way through. It’s best to get these injuries out of the way now, tread water in the meantime, then hope you can make a full-strength beeline for the No. 2 or No. 3 seed down the stretch.
