The Celtics will be without one of their rotation players for the second straight game. Sam Hauser is listed as out on the injury report for the 7 p.m. Saturday game against the Pistons with low back pain. He also missed the Wizards blowout victory, as well.
Kristaps Porzingis continues to be out, as expected, due to surgery rehab. The Celtics have done well despite being without Porzingis so far, putting together a 2-0 record including two blowout wins.
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It‘s unclear how serious Hauser’s back injury is. He was originally questionable for the Wizards game before being downgraded to out for the game. Hauser told reporters in Washington D.C. that it‘s something he’s been managing through the offseason and training camp, so it’s at least something worth monitoring.
The C‘s could tweak their rotation with Hauser out, though they played most of their main guys through the early portions of the Wizards game. Once the C‘s put together a huge third quarter to sprint ahead of the Wizards, C’s coach Joe Mazzulla unloaded his bench from there. Still, a guy like Jordan Walsh could get some extra wing minutes with Hauser out.
The Celtics will look to remain perfect and get to the 3-0 mark. The Pistons were the worst team in the league last season and they play the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Friday. So Detroit will be on the second game of a back-to-back when it hosts Boston.
