Four Boston Celtics Starters Listed As 'Questionable' vs. New York Knicks Thursday

One day after having a completely clean injury report for the first time this season, the Boston Celtics have a fairly lengthy one ahead of their matchup with the New York Knicks.

The Celtics are currently three games ahead of the Knicks with three games to play, so the only way the Knicks can catch the Celtics is by winning the final three games while Boston loses all three.

The Knicks are also a potential first-round opponent, so the Celtics might not be willing to go all out and show all their cards in their final game against New York. With that in mind, they enter the game with four starters on the report, all of them listed as questionable.

Sam Hauser is on the list with low back spasms. His back has been a recurring issue for the past couple of seasons. In fact, Celtics assistant Matt Reynolds, on a recent episode of Derrick White’s “White Noise” podcast, casually mentioned how Hauser sits on a large cushion on the bench because he has a “bad back.”

Hauser is currently shooting 38.7% from three this season. If he doesn’t get to 40%, it’ll be the first time in his organized basketball life below 40% shooting from three. He can get there by getting insanely hot and hitting his next 11 in a row, which isn’t out of the question for him. He could also shoot 16 for his next 27, which is two games of 5-9 shooting and one 6-9 if he plays all three remaining games. Of course, there's a lot more math in between to get there, all of which is very tough. Missing the Knicks game would make it feel close to impossible.

Neemias Queta is on the list with a right toe sprain. That's surprising because it’s the first time he’s been on the list with that. He did land awkwardly a couple of times against the Charlotte Hornets, so he could have done it in one of those falls. It could also be an homage to Al Horford, who would show up on the report with a toe sprain whenever he needed rest.

Queta had been on the injury report with a right thumb sprain, something he seemed to aggravate during the win over Charlotte, but that's not mentioned on the report.

Derrick White returns to the report with a right knee contusion. He’s been on and off the report since the loss in San Antonio last month. That doesn’t seem to be much of an issue.

And Jaylen Brown is back on the report with the left Achilles tendinitis. He was walking gingerly after the game Tuesday night, but not favoring anything in particular. He was asked about how he felt physically, especially after playing 42 minutes and the entire second half against Charlotte.

"I'm alright,” he said. “I've been taking care of my body all year and making sure that I'm available for my team. I think today was my 70th game. Barring no serious injuries, I've been able to manage the load -- offensive and defensive -- over the course of 70 games. Just finishing the regular strong to get my body ready for the playoffs.”

Jayson Tatum will play. He said Tuesday night that it will be a little triggering walking back into Madison Square Garden for the first time since his injury.

“Last time I played there obviously it was a traumatic experience for me,” Tatum said. “Obviously I knew at some point I would have to get over that hurdle and play there again. So, it’s gonna have to be this Thursday, but it’s not like I’m thrilled about it. But it’s part of it. I decided to come back and play so I’m not necessarily skipping certain games. I can’t play back-to-backs right now but I decided to come back and play so it’s just another game on the schedule.”

The Knicks have not submitted an injury report as of yet.