Blake Griffin Will Make Celtics Debut Friday Against the Hornets

Following Monday's Celtics practice, when Blake Griffin met with the media for the first time, he said he's leaning on the training staff to chart the best course for him, and if that meant suiting up for Wednesday's game against the Raptors, he could do so.

However, with Griffin signing on Friday and only having a couple of practices under his belt, that felt rushed and unlikely. Sure enough, after Joe Mazzulla shared that Griffin "went live" during Wednesday's shootaround, he was in street clothes when tip-off arrived.

Instead, Griffin will debut in green on Friday when Boston squares off with the Hornets for the second time this preseason. The six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA member said he'll likely play 10-12 minutes.

Tuesday, Mazzulla conveyed he plans to get the Celtics' veterans a night off at some point, and Boston's final exhibition game, a preseason rematch with the Raptors, this time in Montreal, has always made the most sense for when that happens.

For Griffin, however, that game represents an opportunity to ramp up to the regular season when he'll have to help fill the void from Robert Williams' absence. After undergoing an arthroscopic knee procedure, the plan is for Williams to resume basketball activities in 8-12 weeks, meaning he might not make his season debut until January. That, plus Danilo Gallinari's likely season-ending ACL tear, pushed the Celtics to sign Griffin to shore up their center rotation.

Further Reading

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