WALTHAM, Mass. – Terry Rozier, like most of us, feared the worst when he suffered a hard fall in the fourth quarter of Boston’s 110-99 win over Toronto.
Rozier was able to rise to his feet soon after the hard fall after being fouled by DeMar DeRozan, but was in some serious pain afterwards.
“I thought it was going to be my knee but it wasn’t,” Rozier said prior to Monday’s practice. “My Achilles started hurting and by the time I got home, all the pain transferred to my ankle.”
So much so that head coach Brad Stevens declared him questionable for Tuesday’s game against Milwaukee due to Rozier’s left ankle still having some soreness that kept him from practicing on Monday.
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But Rozier, who said his ankle was feeling better, said being held out of practice was more of a precautionary measure.
When asked if he’s playing against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, Rozier responded with no hesitation, “I’m playing tomorrow for sure.”
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But Stevens’ concern for Rozier is justified considering the long list of injuries the Celtics have been dealing with this season, and the fact that the third-year guard has become a key performer in Boston’s recent surge which has them locked into one of the top-two seeds in the Eastern Conference.
As a starter this season, Rozier is averaging 18.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
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Boston is riding a six-game winning streak, and within that span Rozier has averaged 18.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 44.0 percent from 3-point range which is up from the 42.6 percent he has shot this season as a starter.
“Obviously we’re not going to play him if it’s hurting him,” Stevens said. “He’s going to be incredibly important as we move forward.”
The Celtics will be without Shane Larkin, who was recently released from the hospital with flu-like symptoms. Stevens said Larkin will not travel with the team to Milwaukee, but if he gets the go-ahead from doctors he may join the team in time for tomorrow night’s game at Milwaukee. Larkin has a similar bug that sidelined Al Horford for two games earlier this season.