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The Boston Celtics will travel to the Big Apple to face off the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on January 6th.
Coming off a 97-99 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the Boston Celtics' continued struggle to find their rhythm saw the side fall to 18-20 on the season.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks overcame their own rough patch by snapping a two-game losing streak in the 104-94 win against the Indiana Pacers. With this win, the Knicks improved to 18-20 on the season.
Boston Celtics Injury Report
The Boston Celtics were severely shorthanded through the second half of December. With a number of players entering health and safety protocols back then, the Celtics can feel assured as a large number players return to the rotation.
Unfortunately, Boston will still see a couple of players on their injury report ahead of their game against the New York Knicks.
Payton Pritchard is the most recent addition to the list of players in health and safety protocols. He will be joining Bruno Fernandes and CJ Miles. Pritchard is expected to clear quarantining in just over a week.
The Celtics will also see Brodric Thomas out of the rotation for this game. Thomas joins the injury report after sustaining a back injury. He is listed as day-to-day.
New York Knicks Injury Report
The New York Knicks will have a few players to include on their injury report ahead of the game against Boston.
A major absence will be in the form of Kemba Walker. Walker was a major signing in the offseason. However, due to inconsistent performances, he has found himself in and out of the rotation. Walker is now sidelined with a knee injury. Although he is listed as day-to-day, there is no set timeline for his return.
Another noticeable absentee is Knicks big man Nerlens Noel. Noel has missed significant time this season due to a variety of injuries and more recently a positive COVID diagnosis. He is nearing the end of his term in the NBA's health and safety protocols, and is listed as probable.
Long-term injuries will continue to see Derrick Rose out of the rotation as he recovers from ankle surgery. There is no timeline for his return. Additionally, the Knicks will also miss Kevin Knox in this game. He has been sidelined since Christmas.
Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks Predicted Lineups
Boston Celtics
Although the Boston Celtics will see Pritchard on the injury report, the Celtics are in good shape for this game with the majority of their main rotation returning to the side.
With Jayson Tatum also clearing protocols prior to the game against the San Antonio Spurs, head coach Ime Udoka now has Boston's starting lineup at full strength.
With Marcus Smart starting at point, the Celtics will run with Jaylen Brown at the shooting guard position. The frontcourt trio consists of Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Robert Williams III.
This is a change from their prior rotation of having Horford playing the center and bringing Grant Williams in to play as the four. However, the length of the current lineup promises a lot on the rebounding and defensive end.
Coming off the bench, Boston will see Dennis Schroder enter as backup point guard along with Romeo Langford and Grant Williams. With players like Josh Richardson also available, the Boston Celtics could look to boost their scoring by making use of him.
New York Knicks
The New York Knicks will have their rotation in place as they head into this matchup against Boston.
Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose being sidelined drastically affects New York's point guard rotation. However, the Knicks have depth and could opt to play Alec Burks at point with Immanuel Quickley entering as support off the bench.
The other guard in the backcourt will be RJ Barrett. Barrett seemed to have finally found some rhythm as he went off for 32 points in the game against Indiana. The Knicks will look for consistent production out of him.
The frontcourt trio is likely to consist of Evan Fournier at small forward, Julius Randle at power forward and Taj Gibson at center.
Although Mitchell Robinson has returned to the rotation, he may be asked to come off the bench for one more time before he is deemed fit to start.
Off the bench, the New York Knicks will look at Quickley and Quentin Grimes to fill in at the guard position. Obi Toppin is also expected to play more minutes in the frontcourt.
Overall, Tom Thibodeau is known to use smaller rotations. However, under the given circumstances, the Knicks may look at utilizing more players off the bench.
Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks Predicted Starting 5’s
Boston Celtics
G - Marcus Smart | G - Jaylen Brown | F - Jayson Tatum | F - Al Horford | C - Robert Williams III
New York Knicks
G - Alec Burks | G - RJ Barrett | F - Evan Fournier | F - Julius Randle | C - Taj Gibson
