12:33pm: Irving will have two screws in his patella removed on Saturday, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The team expects a complete recovery to take four to five months, which should have him ready for training camp. Doctors found a bacterial infection in the knee during the last operation and the screws are being taken out to help clear that up, adds Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).
APRIL 5, 11:57am: Kyrie Irving won’t be able to help the Celtics in the postseason, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Sources say Irving’s left knee surgery will keep him sidelined throughout the playoffs.
Irving and the team are considering further treatment for the injured knee, Wojnarowski adds.
Irving had a surgical procedure on March 24 to remove a remove a tension wire that was inserted after he fractured his patella in the 2015 NBA Finals. Doctors described the procedure as “minimally invasive,” and Irving was given a timeline of three to six weeks to return. However, ESPN’s Chris Forsberg notes that the Celtics have consistently said that Irving’s long-term health takes priority over trying to get him back for this year’s playoffs (Twitter link).
The injury, combined with the loss of Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis, leaves Boston with a very inexperienced lineup heading into the postseason. Terry Rozier will be the starting point guard, and huge contributions will be needed from rookie Jayson Tatum and second-year player Jaylen Brown. Smart, who had surgery on his right thumb, hopes to return at some point in the playoffs.
Boston is locked into the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and will face the Heat, Wizards or Bucks when the postseason begins next weekend.
Wow, that’s huge.
Kills whatever chances the Celts might’ve had of coming out of the east.
So why didn’t this genius get the surgery earlier? The wires were there the whole time.
I like his talent but man do I really dislike this guy. Kills me to have him on my team.
It says it’s to help with the infection that developed. Either way I’m sure the doctor’s decision in this swayed the outcome much more than Kyrie’s.
Kyrie said if the Cavs didn’t trade him, he’d have surgery and sit out the season. Looks like he wasn’t joking!
I’m all for players taking care of themselves but he’s known for a while that surgery was looming. He should have done this months ago. It seems pretty selfish.
Lebron back to the finals for the 8 straight time!
Not so fast! Philly has won 11 straight. Cavs beat Toronto twice, but not in Toronto. Toronto has home advantage. If Cavs get 4 seed, Pacers won season series 3-1. They all know if you shut down Love, you shut down the Cavs. That’s what happened against Golden State last season. Love played so poorly he was offered to the Suns and Nuggets.
Ooh come on now I’ve got to hear these baffoons say Kyrie was out and that’s the only reason Lebron went to the Finals.
Boston has Kyrie, Marcus Smart, and Gordon Hayward out!!!
Ehh it changes nothing because even if he played the argument would shift to what if Hayward wasn’t injured.
We’ll see next year when they are all healthy. LeBron will have better chance of beating Boston next season if he joins Philly. What I did like about LeBron, the first time out after Hayward fractured his leg/ankle, LeBron and Isaiah Thomas went to the Celtics locker room to check on Hayward. That was class.
Tank race for the 7-seed.
Creepy weird how injuries help LeBron get to the Finals uncontested every year.
Boston wasn’t their biggest threat though
I got the thing about C.J. McCollum saying he thought LeBron might sign with Philly from Hoops Hype. It’s on NBC Sports too. Philly has the easiest schedule. i wonder if they can get the 3 seed. Did McCollum replace LeBron as vice president of the union, or is it a different office?
Just waiting on the Heat’s yearly devastating injury at this point to get this back to a typical playoff year in the east…With Curry out in the West, things are shaping out as usual around now….*sigh* was super looking forward to this year’s playoffs
Cavs should not have handed them Wade.
That sucks.
Toronto v Houston finals
Ratings bonanza there. The commish will do something to prevent that series from happening.
Hope Kyrie and Gordon come back fully healthy and Marcus Smart comes back. Wish they could get Anthony Davis. With LeBron in Philly, east will be more entertaining next year. When Love leaves next year it’ll be great seeing the Cavs struggle to beat Pacers, Bucks, Pistons, and Bulls.
But you’re a Pacers fan
I hope Philly wins tomorrow night and gets 3 seed. Pacers won season series 3-1 this year against Cavs. You bet I’m a Pacer fan and proud of it. I managed a restaurant in Indy when I was younger. I gave the Pacer players half off so they would come back! Life is good! Brad Stevens and Gordon Hayward are from Indianapolis. I’m for Boston too. Life is good!
Managed a restaurant lol. You are so full of it…can’t keep your lies straight
If their best two leave, they might struggle to beat a lot of teams, snake-in-the-grass
Poor Kyrie! Hope he’s not so distraught that he jumps off the end of the world!!
Kyrie’s problem has always been durability. No one should be surprised he’s injured again. He misses significant time virtually every season.
You just have to hope he gets injured at the “right” time.
Pretty unbelievable..first Gordon now Kyrie. Sucks for the C’s. Thought this was their year. I do think if they all come back healthy next year they will be in great shape but just sucks for them this year.
You can bet on not seeing Hayward returning this year, no reason too now. Time to sit back and let the young guys get alittle playoff experience. Anxious to see how Rosier, Brown and Tatum do, along with Brads coaching with a young and depleted roster.