Celtics' Malcolm Brogdon Out Game 6 vs. Heat After Leaving Game 5 with Forearm Injury
The Boston Celtics announced that guard Malcolm Brogdon will miss Game 6 of his team's Eastern Conference Finals series against the Miami Heat with a right forearm strain.
Jared Weiss of The Athletic reported earlier that Brogdon suffered a "partial tear in the tendon coming out of his right elbow that leads into his forearm" in Game 1 of the series.
The former University of Virginia star has played in all five games of the matchup, but Brogdon has taken the court for only 43 minutes over the past three games, shooting 1-of-13 and missing all seven of his three-pointers.
The NBA's Sixth Man of the Year averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists this season while shooting a career-high 44.4 percent from three-point range.
Brogdon played just eight minutes in Game 5. Without him, the Celtics rolled with a seven-man rotation that saw some players get more court time than usual (e.g. Derrick White and his 37 minutes). Boston also played Grant Williams for 27 minutes off the bench.
It's also possible that Boston opts to use Payton Pritchard or Sam Hauser for some minutes in Brogdon's place, as NBA on TNT sideline reporter Allie LaForce noted in her pregame report.
Both were on the court to close the Celtics' 110-97 win.
The Celtics lost the first three games of this series before bouncing back to win a pair. They are looking to become the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs.
Trying to accomplish that without Brogdon may be a tall order, especially with how important he's been to the team's success this year. Game 6 will also go down in Miami, where the Heat have largely excelled this year (27-14 regular season, 1-1 play-in, 6-1 postseason).
Momentum is on the Celtics' side after a pair of impressive wins, however, as Boston looks to make history.
