Celtics key reserve Malcolm Brogdon is available for Monday’s decisive Eastern Conference finals Game 7 against the Miami Heat, a team source told The Athletic. Here’s what you need to know:
- The NBA Sixth Man of the Year missed Game 6 with a right forearm strain.
- Brogdon scored just two points on 13 shots in Games 3-5 before missing Game 6. He has been playing through a partial tear in his right elbow that leads into his forearm since Game 1, team sources told The Athletic last week.
- The guard averaged 14.9 points and 3.7 assists per game in 26 minutes per game this year, his first season with Boston.
- The Athletic has live coverage of Eastern Conference Final game 7 between the Celtics vs Heat.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
How Brogdon got ready for Game 7
Brogdon told The Athletic before Game 6 that after going through his pregame warmup, he was too sore to be able to play Saturday. After Brogdon struggled to play through his partially torn forearm tendon in Game 5, he and the team mutually agreed it was best for him to rest in the second half with the hope it would mitigate the soreness ahead of Game 6.
But after going through the abridged pregame shooting routine he has been doing since exacerbating the injury in Game 1, Brogdon and the team determined he needed to sit out Game 6 with the hope he would recover in time to play in Game 7. That plan appears to be paying off, as Brogdon now intends to play, barring any setbacks in his warmup.
“We definitely miss him and hope that he’ll be able to return tonight,” Grant Williams said Monday. “I don’t know (about) the medical staff, that’s their job, but at the end of the day we gotta be prepared for whoever’s ready to play. Next man up mentality, ready to get this win because we gotta accomplish our goal of the season.” — Weiss
What his presence means to Boston
Though Brogdon has just one basket since Game 2, he was able to still find a role out there with his defense on Jimmy Butler. But in Game 7 against the most tenacious team in basketball, the Celtics will need Brogdon to keep moving the ball with pace and at least hit a shot or two.
The Celtics pulled off a miracle winning Game 6 despite having their worst deep shooting game of the season, but they can’t count on that to happen again. So expect Brogdon’s minutes to be closely tied to whether he is healthy enough to bring more on offense. — Weiss
Backstory
Despite the hobbled play of one of their most important players, the Celtics clawed back from a 3-0 series deficit to force Game 7. While Brogdon has struggled to score in the series, he chipped in five rebounds and three assists in Game 4 to help preserve the season.
Prior to the injury, Brogdon scored 19 points and hit two 3-pointers in Game 1. He averaged 16.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in Boston’s semifinal series victory over Philadelphia.
The Celtics acquired Brogdon, 30, from the Pacers in the offseason. He struggled to stay healthy in his three seasons with Indiana, and his 67 games played with Boston are his most since 2016-17 with Milwaukee, the year he won Rookie of the Year.
Required reading
- Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon playing through right arm injury: Sources
- Malcolm Brogdon wins NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award through humility and patience
(Photo: Sam Navarro / USA Today)
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