Celtics to Face Clippers Without 2 LA All-Stars on Sunday

Clippers guard Bradley Beal (0) looks up at the scoreboard as he plays against the Suns during a game at the Mortgage Matchup Center on Nov. 6, 2025. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Two LA Clippers All-Stars (well, former All-Stars) have already been ruled out of Sunday's clash against the Boston Celtics.

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Per the NBA's most recent injury report, both former three-time All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal and former six-time All-NBA small forward Kawhi Leonard will be on the shelf for LA. Beal is done for the year after fracturing his left hip. He was healthy for just six games. Leonard has been out for weeks with a sprained right ankle.

Two-way Clippers player Jahmyl Telfort is with L.A.'s G League affiliate, the San Diego Clippers.

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Only one standard roster piece, six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum, will be absent for the Celtics. All three of Boston's two-way players — wing Ron Harper Jr., rookie guard Max Shulga and center Amari Williams — are putting in reps with the team's G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics.

The Clippers, fielding one of the oldest rotations in the league this year, has been shockingly bad. At present, their 4-8 record has them firmly ensconced as the No. 11 seed in a tough Western Conference.

At 6-7 on the year, Boston, too, occupies the No. 11 seed in the East, but the club is very much looking like a play-in tournament-caliber team. The Celtics are currently just 1.5 games behind the No. 6-seeded Philadelphia 76ers (7-5).

Without Tatum available all year (and thanks to major money-saving offseason roster churn), the Celtics' championship window, at least, looks pretty closed in 2025-26. But this current club is good enough to at least be a frisky playoff out.

Boston's Ambiguous 2025-26 Season Goals

Still, team president Brad Stevens seems intent on shedding salaries — even if it means sacrificing quality players, if this summer's heartless breakup of his championship core is any indication. With Boston just $4 million above the league's punitive first luxury tax apron, it seems likely Stevens could opt to offload further pieces before this year's February trade deadline.

Sharpshooting forward Sam Hauser, who's in the first season of a four-year, $45 million deal, and reserve guard Anfernee Simons, who's on an expiring $27.6 million salary, seem like the most obvious potential trade chips for Boston.

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