The Boston Celtics will try to continue their NBA winning streak, which is currently the longest, despite missing two of their starting players.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White will both be out for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are hoping for a comeback after the defending champions handed them their first loss of the season on November 19.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla confirmed that Brown is out because of a non-COVID illness, while White has a foot sprain from the third quarter of Friday’s win over Chicago.
Brown is averaging 24.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, while White is known as the team’s best defender.
The Celtics are on a seven-game winning streak heading into their game against Cleveland (17-3), which has lost its last two games to Atlanta. The Cavaliers started the season 15-0 before losing 120-117 to the Celtics on the road two weeks ago.
On a positive note, the Celtics will have their starters Kristaps Porzingis (injury management), Al Horford (toe sprain), and Jrue Holiday (adductor tightness) available, after all three were listed as questionable before the game.
Porzingis missed the first game between the Eastern Conference’s top two teams. His return adds more strength to the Celtics as his shooting ability helps spread the floor and forces Cleveland’s big men, like Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, to move away from the basket.
Although the Celtics haven’t been fully healthy, Coach Mazzulla is happy with how the team is playing recently.
“I like where we’re at,” he said. “We’re playing some good basketball, but we know we can be better, and that’s a healthy place to be. We’re content on how it’s going so far. … I like the fact that we’re not peaking because of the amount of time we’ll have to work through those things.”
