BOSTON -- Kyrie Irving’s left hip strain will keep him out of the Boston Celtics’s game tonight against the Brooklyn Nets, and head coach Brad Stevens said it might sideline the six-time All-Star for Wednesday’s game against Charlotte, too.
“He felt better yesterday but was stiff today,” Stevens said. “I think it was from a fall in the first half against Golden State (on Saturday). I don’t think it’ll be anything long-term but certainly day-to-day this week.”
And that’s a good thing, because him missing a few games is very much in line with what the Celtics anticipated this season.
“With (Irving) … we’re gonna sit him eight to 12 games anyway,” Stevens said. “So when he does have nicks and bruises, it does make sense to sit. This (injury) seems a little bigger than that, but again, I don’t anticipate it being long-term but I don’t know about Wednesday (versus Charlotte at the TD Garden).”
Irving will be missing his seventh game of the season tonight.
☘️ MORE ON KYRIE'S . . . FUTURE?
Of the six previous missed games for Irving, four have been due to injuries - he missed a game at Utah to attend a ceremony honoring his grandfather, and he missed last Tuesday’s game against Cleveland to rest.
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There were concerns coming into the season about Irving’s health after he missed the latter stages of the regular season and all of the playoffs a year ago following a surgical procedure to address an infection in his left knee.
But for the most part, he has been healthy this season with the occasional minor injury.
And that bodes well for his general health when the games matter most - the playoffs.
The Celtics, 4-2 without Irving this season, have been smart all season when it comes to managing Irving’s health, finding a balance between him playing an appropriate amount of minutes while balancing that with getting him some downtime and at times, limiting what he does in practice or sitting him out altogether.
“He’s very open and candid when he’s not feeling great,” Stevens said. “We’re very alert to that and want to make sure we prioritize not only the short-term health but the long-term.”
Replacing him tonight in the starting lineup will be Terry Rozier, who has been the starting point guard in place of Irving in each of the six games Irving has missed this season.
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