Joe Mazzulla questionable Thursday night with corneal abrasions
BOSTON -- The Celtics should have their full roster for Thursday night's tilt against the Clippers at TD Garden. (Minus Danilo Gallinari, of course.) But they may not have their head coach for the second straight game.
Interim head coach Joe Mazzulla is considered questionable due to corneal abrasions, the team announced Thursday morning. Mazzulla was a late scratch (no pun intended) from Tuesday night's win over the Houston Rockets, ruled out roughly 15 minutes prior to tipoff.
Mazzulla suffered the injury during a pickup game on Tuesday, the team revealed. He went through his usual pregame routine Tuesday night, but realized just before tip that he probably shouldn't coach.
It was no problem for the Celtics, as bench coach Damon Stoudamire stepped in for Mazzulla and helped guide the team to a 126-102 victory. (The 39 points from Jaylen Brown and 38 points from Jayson Tatum certainly helped.)
Stoudamire would get the nod again Thursday night if Mazzulla is forced to miss another game, with a chance to pick up his second career win as a head coach. Chances are he'll receive a little more notice than he did Tuesday night, too.
Thursday night's game figures to be a lot tougher than Tuesday, with the Clippers sitting at 21-15 on the season. Los Angeles has won two straight and four of its last five. The Clippers also have a win over the Celtics this season, beating Boston 113-93 out west two weeks ago.
Boston has won three straight though, and is looking to close out its seven-game homestand with a victory on Thursday night.
Update: The Celtics sent out an updated injury report Thursday afternoon, listing both Malcolm Brogdon and Blake Griffin as questionable due to an illness.
