Tristan Thompson could miss Celtics opener
The 2020-21 National Basketball Association season is just over a week away from commencing and already teams are battling through injuries as they prepare to get started. Boston Celtics’ head coach Brad Stevens confirmed his team could be without their biggest offseason acquisition Tristan Thompson when the Celtics kick off their campaign against Milwaukee Bucks at home on December 23rd.
“I think that’s hard to say right now,” Stevens said after the Celtics practiced Saturday, via ESPN. “He’s not been in any part of practice yet. He’s done our pre-practice … 2-on-2, 3-on-3, very light, simulated reads work on both ends. So that’s it.”
Thompson signed a two-year deal worth $19m with the Celtics during the offseason, leaving the only team he had ever played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Thompson hasn’t played an NBA game since March, with the Cavaliers not included in the NBA bubble this past summer and injured his hamstring preparing for the upcoming season.
“He hasn’t played in a long time,” Stevens said. “He didn’t play in the bubble, so there will be a ramp-up period for him whenever he is able to go live in practice, and I’m assuming it won’t be just one of those situations where you’re available one day and you get a good practice in and you can play. I think it’ll be a little more than that.
“I don’t know what that means with regard to December 23. Every day that passes I’d say that becomes more unlikely,”
The Celtics will also be without superstar guard Kemba Walker until at least January. Fortunately for Celtics’ fans, the franchise did add veteran Jeff Teague though as well this offseason who could potentially be used as a temporary replacement for Walker.
“I’m not sure,” Teague said when asked if he will be replacing Walker in the starting lineup, via ESPN. “But it really don’t matter. We’ve got a lot of great guys, a lot of talented players, and it’s going to be a whole team effort not having a guy like that right now, a dynamic point guard like that, so I guess we’ll figure it out.”
The Celtics finished the regular season in third in the Eastern Conference last year, with a respectable 48-24 record. They made a deep run in the playoffs, going all the way to the Eastern Conference final where they were eventually eliminated by the Miami Heat. The Celtics did knock off the defending NBA champions the Toronto Raptors in the second round though and will be happy with the progress they made throughout the campaign. They have made the playoffs every year since the 2013-14 season.
It will be interesting to keep an eye on Boston this year to see whether their offseason acquisitions have had the impact the team would like. Thompson won an NBA championship in 2016 with the Cavaliers and his experience will undoubtedly help the Celtics as they look to take the next step in their pursuit of their first NBA title since 2008.
