Celtics rule out both Marcus Smart, Al Horford for Game 1 vs. Heat

BOSTON (CBS) — The Celtics will be shorthanded when they tip off the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Not only will Marcus Smart miss Game 1 with a foot injury, but Al Horford has also been ruled out due to Health & Safety Protocols.

That leaves the Celtics without two starters on Tuesday night, and is going to make stealing the first game of the series in Miami extremely difficult for Boston.

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Smart’s absence should come as no surprise, as he was listed as questionable on Monday after he suffered a right mid-foot sprain during Boston’s Game 7 win over the Bucks on Sunday. He received treatment throughout the day on Tuesday leading up to Game 1, and the Celtics are hopeful that he’ll be back for Thursday night’s Game 2.

Horford being out is a huge surprise, as he was at Boston’s shootaround Tuesday morning. His absence will leave the Celtics without a key piece of the team’s defense, as Horford figured to match up with Miami big man Bam Adebayo.

Ime Udoka said that he found out that Horford would be unavailable around 5pm. He would not say whether or not Horford tested positive for COVID-19.

“As always, we don’t comment on the status of our guys. He’s feeling fine and we’ll go from there,” said Udoka. “We’ll wait for the results of future tests, but won’t comment on status.”

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported shortly after the news broke that the Celtics are preparing for Horford to be out through Game 2 on Thursday, but Udoka made it sound like Horford may return, depending on testing.

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“It’s not a definite that he’s out for two games,” said Udoka, adding that Horford has to pass a certain number of tests before returning.

This is the third time this season that Horford has entered Health & Safety Protocols. He told The Boston Globe in early April that he had been vaccinated for COVID-19 amid a flurry of concerns that he and other Celtics players wouldn’t be able to in Canada if Boston matched up with the Toronto Raptors in the first round.

The 35-year-old Horford had played in all 11 games so far this postseason, averaging 13.0 points and 9.4 rebounds for Boston in addition to his stellar defense.

Smart missed Game 2 of the East semis against the Bucks with a quad injury. He returned for the final five games and averaged 14.0 points off 41 percent shooting and 5.7 assists for the series. He bounced back after a brutal finish to Game 5 and scored 21 points off 5-for-9 shooting from three in Game 6. Smart scored 11 points to go with 10 assists in Boston’s Game 7 win on Sunday.

“The soreness was too much. Still some swelling and it limited basketball movements he could do,” Udoka said of Smart ahead of Game 1. “He tried it out, tested it this morning and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow after more treatment and time off.”

Marcus Smart arriving for Game One of the East Final. He’s out with a mid-foot sprain and noticeably limping. #Celtics #NBAPlayoffs #NBA #BleedGreen  #wbz @wbz pic.twitter.com/yHRzWddJcp

— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) May 17, 2022

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With Smart out Tuesday night, Derrick White will get the start at point guard for Boston. Robert Williams is expected to play significant minutes for the Celtics after not playing the last four games with knee soreness, according Wojnarowski, and could get the start at center for the Celtics, with Grant Williams starting again at power forward.