UPDATE: Tatum ($10,900) will suit up Sunday vs. the Trail Blazers, but Kristaps Porzingis (conditioning) and Jrue Holiday (shoulder) have been ruled out. Al Horford ($5,200) should start in place of Porzingis and Sam Hauser ($4,000) is the top candidate to start in place of Holiday.
It’s another notable list for the Celtics’ injury report on Sunday. Jayson Tatum headlines it as he’s questionable with a knee injury. Kristaps Porzingis (conditioning) and Jrue Holiday (shoulder) are also questionable. Jaylen Brown and Xavier Tillman have been ruled out with knee injuries.
The Celtics are playing the Trail Blazers, who are 32-39 and in 12th place in the Western Conference. They also have some key injuries for the game as Anfernee Simons and Donovan Clingan are questionable with illnesses, and Jerami Grant is doubtful with a knee issue.
Boston is one of the deepest teams in the NBA with players such as Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet impacting the game at high levels off the bench. If the Celtics are without both Tatum and Brown, they can still survive the rebuilding Trail Blazers.
It’s also not an overly important game for the Celtics, who have a firm grip on the second seed in the Eastern Conference. They’re 7.5 games ahead of the third-place Knicks and five games behind the first-place Cavaliers. A second-seed placement in the Eastern Conference playoffs is more than likely with 12 games remaining.