Boston Celtics Down 2 Players vs Pistons on Saturday

The Boston Celtics are dealing with a couple of injuries on Saturday night.

Mar 18, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (28) in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

On Saturday, the Detroit Pistons are going for night two of a back-to-back set. They are staring down the NBA Champions while coming off of a loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Boston Celtics are relatively healthy heading into the matchup, having most of their core players ready to go. However, the veteran big man Kristaps Porzingis remains on the injury report.

Over the offseason, Porzingis underwent surgery for a foot injury. The Celtics entered the 2024-2025 NBA season under the impression that Porzingis could miss multiple months of action.

Last season, Porzingis appeared in 57 games for Boston during the regular season. He spent an average of 30 minutes on the court. During that time, Porzingis produced 20 points and seven rebounds per game. He shot the ball at a career-high clip, making 52 percent of his field goal attempts.

As key as Porzingis’ presence was for the Celtics, they remain in good hands beyond the big man. So far, Boston hasn’t had any struggles dealing with their opponents in the absence of the one-time All-Star.

Along with Porzingis, the Celtics will be down another veteran as Sam Hauser has been ruled out for the matchup on Saturday night. Dealing with a nagging back injury since preparation for the regular season has begun, Hauser finds himself missing time early on.

When the Celtics faced the Washington Wizards earlier this week, Hauser came off the bench for 24 minutes. He collected ten points, five rebounds, and one assist.

While Hauser doesn’t seem to believe the setback is anything significant, he won’t get cleared for action against Detroit on Saturday night.

The Pistons remain without two of their players as well. The second-year wing Ausar Thompson is still waiting for clearance from the NBA after dealing with blood clots down the stretch of the 2023-2024 NBA season. The rookie Bobi Klintman is nursing a calf injury, which forced him to miss the entire preseason, along with the first two regular-season matchups.

The Pistons and the Celtics are set to battle it out at 7 PM ET. on Saturday.