Celtics' Bradley Battling Another Ankle Sprain, Status Uncertain Following All-Star Break
BOSTON (CBS) - Avery Bradley has been sidelined by a second ankle sprain, and the status of the Celtics' guard following the All-Star break is uncertain.
Bradley originally suffered an ankle sprain on January 21 against the Miami Heat, and went on to miss five games. He returned to play on February 2 against the Orlando Magic, but the team believes he suffered another sprain three days later in Philadelphia. The team sat Bradley for last Friday's game against the Sacramento Kings, hoping he would be able to make a full return two days later against the Dallas Mavericks. But Bradley did not look right in that contest, and was removed in the second half.
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He underwent another MRI this week, revealing a second sprain, and head coach Brad Stevens doesn't know if he'll have his defensive-minded guard back when the Celtics open a four-game road trip following the All Star Break on Wednesday.
But the Celtics first-year coach is optimistic.
"Hopefully it's going to be something that's not long term, or doesn't look like it will be. It looks like it's just the same as the first one, so not a long-term thing," Stevens said when announcing Bradley was out prior to Boston's loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
"It's always concerning when a guy is unable to play," he said. "Again, it's not a long-term issue. We'll be very [cautious], like I thought we were last time from everything that I could tell. I know that our doctors and our training staff will do their due diligence and will be very conservative with bringing him back, as we should be."
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In his fourth NBA season, Bradley is averaging a career-high 14.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
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