Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics: Injury Report, Predicted Lineups and Starting 5s - December 20th, 2021 | NBA Season 2021-22
The Boston Celtics will host the Philadelphia 76ers at the TD Garden on December 20th.
The Philadelphia 76ers' Sunday night matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans was postponed due to health and safety protocols. Prior to that, the team faced a loss to the Brooklyn Nets on December 16th.
The Boston Celtics, on the other hand, will head into this game on the back of a 114-107 win against the New York Knicks.
Philadelphia 76ers Injury Report
The Philadelphia 76ers will find themselves in quite some trouble with regards to their rotation ahead of Monday night's matchup.
With a majority of their team either listed as out or questionable, the Sixers will have only six players who are actively available for the side.
Some major concerns appear in the form of Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. Both players had been listed as questionable for the game against the Pelicans. However, since the postponement, there has been no update on their status.
Georges Niang will be joined by Andre Drummond and Shake Milton under health and safety protocols. They will be unavailable for the side for an extended period of time.
Confirming @ShamsCharania: Shake Milton and Andre Drummond are now in health and safety protocols. That makes three Sixers currently in H&S protocols, seven this season.
Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Danny Green are questionable with injuries.
Danny Green also features in the injury report as questionable with a hip injury. Overall, the Philadelphia 76ers have an extremely depleted roster.
Boston Celtics Injury Report
Much like the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics will also see their side severely shorthanded ahead of this matchup.
Featuring a number of key players on their injury report, the Celtics will find themselves with only seven players available in their lineup.
Boston currently has six players in health and safety protocols which lists them out for the matchup against Philadelphia 76ers. These include key rotation pieces such as Grant Williams and Al Horford.
Additionally, the Celtics will also the potential absence of Jayson Tatum, who has been listed as questionable for the game following an ankle injury. He will be joined by Dennis Schroder and Romeo Langford on the list of players who are questionable to play.
New/updated additions to the injury report for the Celtics:
Romeo Langford - questionable - neck pain
Josh Richardson - OUT - H&S protocols
Dennis Schroder - questionable - non-COVID illness
Jayson Tatum - questionable - left ankle sprain twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/…
Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics Predicted Lineups
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers will feature a severely decimated roster heading into this game against the Boston Celtics. With only six active players, the limited rotations will view the team playing in very diffcult conditions.
Should Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid be unavailable for the side in this game, the Sixers are virtually empty at the point guard and center position. With Shake Milton and Jaden Springer both unavailable for the game, in the absence of Maxey, Curry will be asked to move into the point guard role.
At center, the Philadelphia 76ers will see both Embiid and Andre Drummond out for the game. With no backup center, the side will be forced to ask Charles Bassey or Paul Reed to step into the starting rotation should Embiid be listed out.
With Curry potentially moving into one, the 76ers will have to start Isaiah Joe at the two guard spot. Mattise Thybulle and Tobias Harris will make up for the rest of the frontcourt along with Reed or Bassey.
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics will also face some struggles with their rotations heading into this game. Although the side will see some ease in selecting their guard rotations with Marcus Smart and Aaron Nesmith available, the frontcourt will be a tougher puzzle to crack.
Should the Boston Celtics list Jayson Tatum as unavailable for the game, with Jaylen Brown starting as Boston's small forward and Robert Williams III at center, the only available big man who can play power forward is Enes Freedom.
However, another potential option for the side is to start Payton Pritchard at point guard and move Marcus Smart to the shooting guard. This allows Nesmith and Brown to shift one position up into the frontcourt and therefore leaves Freedom to play first big-man off the bench.
Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics Predicted Starting 5’s
Philadelphia 76ers
G - Seth Curry | G - Isaiah Joe | F - Mattise Thybulle | F - Tobias Harris | C - Charles Bassey
Boston Celtics
G - Marcus Smart | G - Aaron Nesmith | F - Jaylen Brown | F - Enes Freedom | F - Robert Williams III