Inside The Celtics

Boston Celtics Injury Report: Starter upgraded, key bench player appears closer to return

Payton Pritchard was on the Celtics injury report this week and missed his first game of the season against the Atlanta Hawks. Josh Minott remains out, but he looked closer to a return in video from the team's morning shoot-around.
John Karalis|
Jan 1, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) reacts after getting called for an offensive foul against the Sacramento Kings during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
Jan 1, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) reacts after getting called for an offensive foul against the Sacramento Kings during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

In this story:

Boston Celtics

Payton Pritchard was on the Celtics injury report on Sunday, after missing his first game of the season on Friday night in Atlanta. But he has now been upgraded. 

After initially listing Pritchard as QUESTIONABLE with left ankle soreness, the Celtics have upgraded him to AVAILABLE. Here is the full injury report: 

  • Chris Boucher - Low Back Spasms - PROBABLE
  • Josh Minott - Left Ankle Sprain - OUT
  • Payton Pritchard - AVAILABLE
  • Jayson Tatum - Right Achilles Repair - OUT

The Celtics take on the Detroit Pistons on Monday night in an MLK Day matchup. Pritchard has had a couple of nice games against the Pistons, dropping 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in an October loss and then scoring 16 on 50% shooting in their late-November win. He struggled in their last matchup, on December 15, shooting 5-14. 

Overall this season, Pritchard is averaging 16.6 points per game despite some early season struggles dragging his efficiency to one of the lowest points of his career. Baylor Scheierman has been getting starts recently as the Celtics have dealt with the absence of Pritchard and Jaylen Brown for a game. Scheierman has filled in well, doing a lot of little things to help the Celtics, but also hitting three 3-pointers filling in for Pritchard against Atlanta. 

Minott has started 10 games for Boston this season, including nine in a row at the beginning of November, but he’s missed the last seven games with a sprained ankle. He also had a string of four DNP-CD game as part of his roller coaster season in Boston. He was on the court at the team’s pre-Pistons shoot around, appearing to be close to a return.

The Celtics and Pistons drew the prime time MLK Day slot before the season started, and the NBA was rewarded with a matchup of the top two teams in the East. Detroit being the top seed is a bit of a surprise, but the Celtics rising to second is an even bigger one. 

These two teams have played each other tough all season. Detroit leads the season series 2-1, but all three games were decided by seven points or less. 

Detroit and Boston tip off at 8 p.m. on Peacock and NBC. 

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
John Karalis
JOHN KARALIS

John Karalis is a 20-year veteran of Celtics coverage and was nominated for NSMA's Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year in 2019. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016 and has written two books about the Celtics. John was born and raised in Pawtucket, RI. He graduated from Shea High School in Pawtucket, where he played football, soccer, baseball, and basketball and was captain of the baseball and basketball teams. John graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism and was a member of their Gold Key Honor Society. He was a four-year starter and two-year captain of the Men’s Basketball team, and remains one of the school's top all-time scorers, and Emerson's all-time leading rebounder. He is also the first Emerson College player to play professional basketball (Greece). John started his career in television, producing and creating shows since 1997. He spent nine years at WBZ, launching two different news and lifestyle shows before ascending to Executive Producer and Managing Editor. He then went to New York, where he was a producer and reporter until 2018. John is one of Boston’s original Celtics bloggers, creating RedsArmy.com in 2006. In 2018, John joined the Celtics beat full-time for MassLive.com and then went to Boston Sports Journal in 2021, where he covered the Celtics for five years. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016, and it currently ranks as the #1 Boston Celtics podcast on iTunes and Spotify rankings. He is also one of the co-hosts of the Locked on NBA podcast.

Share on XFollow John_Karalis