BOSTON — The injury news in the Eastern Conference finals has been all over the map for both the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, and Game 2 hasn’t even begun.
The trend continued on Thursday afternoon, when starting forward Al Horford was upgraded from doubtful to questionable for Thursday night’s Game 2. Not long after that upgrade, the news got better for Boston, with Horford officially being made available to play in Game 2.
Horford had been in health and safety protocols since Tuesday, landing there just hours before Game 1 tipped off in Miami.
Celtics head coach Ime Udoka — who missed his press conference Wednesday due to a non-COVID illness, but was able to speak with the media on Thursday — said that Horford passed all the tests needed to get out of protocol and return for Game 2.
“He passed all the protocols and passed all the tests. I’m not a doctor, but he had to pass a certain amount of tests,” Udoka explained ahead of Game 2. “He was feeling fine from the get-go. Happy to have him back.”
Udoka added that Horford will have no limitations on Thursday, and is a “full go” in Game 2.
Horford’s return should be a major boost for the Celtics, and Boston will also get Marcus Smart back, who missed Boston’s Game 1 loss with a foot sprain. The Celtics will be without Derrick White, who returned to Boston on Thursday for the birth of his child.
Horford was immense in getting the Celtics past the Bucks in the second round, both for his defensive work on Giannis Antetokounmpo and for his 13 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in the postseason.
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