NBA Rumors: Latest on Kyrie Irving, Rudy Gobert Injuries
Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving could be back in action tonight.
After he took an errant elbow to the face from teammate Aron Baynes during the first quarter of Friday's game against the Charlotte Hornets, Irving missed the rest of the game with a facial fracture.
He was also held out of Sunday's game against the Toronto Raptors in order to be monitored for concussion symptoms.
Per Shams Charania of The Vertical, Irving will play through the injury for an estimated two weeks with a protective mask custom fitted.
This will be the second time in Irving's career that he's had to wear a fitted mask. He wore one while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2012 after fracturing his jaw.
The mask didn't hinder Irving's play, though. During the 19-game stretch wearing the mask, the 25-year old point guard still managed to average 24.5 points per game while shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from behind the arc.
He even dropped a then-career-high 41 points just hours after getting the mask at Madison Square Garden, where he was dubbed "Phantom of the Garden."
His play that year ultimately led to his first All Star selection.
According to the Boston Herald's Mark Murphy, Irving was on the team flight to New York yesterday, a clear indication that he might take the court tonight against the Brooklyn Nets.
Irving was listed as doubtful for the Raptors game, but he has been upgraded to questionable for Brooklyn.
The Celtics, who are on an 12-game winning streak and own the best record in the NBA at 12-2, should get a jolt from Irving's return.
Irving is averaging a team-high 20.3 points per game and 5.2 assists per contest.
The Utah Jazz will have to find a way to win without Rudy Gobert.
The 7'1" center could be out for four-to-six weeks due to a bone bruise in his right knee, league sources told The Vertical's Shams Charania.
Gobert injured his knee during Friday's 84-74 loss to the Miami Heat when Dion Waiters dived into it going for a loose ball.
The Jazz announced that the right tibia contusion will be reevaluated in a month.
The injury was not without controversy, though, because Gobert called the play dirty.
"It feels better than it looked in the video," Gobert told reporters after the game. "I think it was a dirty play."
He even took to Twitter to reiterate his feelings on the play.
For his part, Waiters denied the play was dirty.
"I've never been a dirty player in my life," Waiters told the Sun Sentinel's Shandel Richardson. "I went for the ball. Tell him to get out of his feelings and that's what it is, just like that."
Utah will miss Gobert's presence on the court. The French big man is averaging 13.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game this season.
Last year, he made the NBA All-Defensive first team and was finalist for Defensive Player of the Year.
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