Kyrie Irving's Right Knee Sprain Not Serious, Considered Day-To-Day Going Forward
BOSTON (CBS) -- In need of some good news following back-to-back losses, the Celtics got some on Kyrie Irving's right knee injury.
Irving's knee sprain is not considered serious and the point guard is day-to-day, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Irving suffered the injury in the second quarter of Saturday night's disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, when Boston blew a 28-point first-half lead. Los Angeles outscored Boston 75-44 after Irving left, en route to a 123-112 victory over the C's.
The Celtics have dropped back down to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference thanks to their recent two-game skid, sitting at 35-21 on the season and one game behind the Philadelphia 76ers. Boston has a big matchup in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, and Irving's day-to-day designation at least gives him a shot to play against the Celtics' Atlantic Division foe. Irving dropped 40 points on the 76ers the last time the two teams met, a 121-114 overtime victory for the Celtics in Boston on Christmas Day.
Tuesday night will be Boston's first look at the revamped 76ers, who now tout one of the best starting fives in the NBA following their acquisition of Tobias Harris ahead of the trade deadline. The two teams will meet one other time during the regular season: March 20 in Philadelphia.
Irving is having one of his best seasons as a pro, averaging a team-high 23.6 points off 50 percent shooting and 41 percent shooting from downtown. He's also averaging a career-high 6.9 assists and 4.9 rebounds per contest.
Irving has missed nine games throughout the season, missing time as he recovered from last year's knee procedure and more recently with a hip strain. The Celtics have gone 7-2 in those games, though most of the games Irving has missed have come against lesser opponents.
