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Steve Bulpett reported on Thursday that Kyrie Irving will miss Saturday’s trip to Cleveland for the conclusion of the Boston Celtics’ preseason slate of games.
Kyrie Irving says he won't be going to Cleveland for Saturday night's preseason finale. He's been dealing with some rib soreness from practice hits.
— Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) October 4, 2018
Irving was declared a healthy scratch from Tuesday night’s game in Boston against Cleveland for rest, so this rib soreness appears to be a new development. In his stead, Terry Rozier started alongside Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford, with the latter four not playing in the second half.
Jay King added a quote from Irving that suggests the origin of the hits:
Kyrie Irving not worried about the ribs. Suggested it wasn’t Baynes who hit him. “Baynes is good. That’s my soldier, man.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) October 4, 2018
There’s a lot of positive here. For one, resident team tough guy, Aron Baynes, continues to be tough. Another positive: Kyrie Irving isn’t worried about his ribs. This is good news in regards to his status for the season opener on Tuesday, October 16th. He added that “our practices have been awesome” which should be good news for fans who were disappointed with the team’s lackluster performance in their last matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Additionally, Gordon Hayward will also miss Saturday’s matchup with the Cavs.
Gordon Hayward didn’t practice today because of lower back soreness. Stevens said his leg’s fine, but the All-Star has dealt with other soreness early in his comeback. He won’t play Saturday against Cleveland either.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) October 4, 2018
It’s preseason, so if there’s ever a time to take it easy, now is that time. For a team that held the moniker, “Hospital Celtics” last season, caution is the wise course of action.
The Celtics are currently 1-2 in the preseason. Tonight at the TD Garden, they’ll hold a Season Ticket Holder’s FanFest before heading to Cleveland to take another crack at the Cavaliers on Saturday.