Boston Celtics’ Starters Unavailable for Game Against Portland Trail Blazers. On Monday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, a handful of the Boston Celtics’ starters will not be available. Kristaps Porzingis, due to tightness in his right hamstring, and Jrue Holiday, dealing with tendinopathy in his left knee, will both be sitting out the game. Additionally, reserve player Svі Mykhаiliuk is absent due to personal matters.

The Celtics had already declared Porzingis out for the game, while labeling Holiday and the remaining starting five as questionable. However, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum will still be playing in Portland.

In addition to those three players, Al Horford and Sam Hauser will likely be in Monday’s starting lineup. Both players have filled in as starters this season, with Horford making 24 starts in place of Porzingis and Hauser making six appearances.

It is not unusual for Porzingis to miss a game in a “back-to-back” situation, and he will likely return to the floor on Tuesday night in Utah. Holiday’s absences, on the other hand, are relatively rare, as he has only missed five games this season.

The fact that Boston is a bit short-handed could provide more playing time for deeper rotation players like Xavier Tillman and Jaden Springer, as well as additional opportunities for bench regulars like Luke Kornet and Payton Pritchard.

For Pritchard, this will be his first time playing in his native Oregon since the 2021-2022 season. In his previous visit to the Moda Center, he scored 19 points in a decisive Celtics victory over the Blazers.

Any additional opportunity for Kornet to build on his 14-point performance against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday would be welcomed.

Tillman and Springer joined the Celtics at last month’s trade deadline, coming from Philadelphia and Memphis, respectively. So far, neither of the new Celtics players has been able to break through Coach Joe Mazzulla’s rotation. Springer has averaged 3.3 minutes in six outings, while Tillman has averaged 12.3 minutes in his four games.

Fans might get an extended look at the two players in Monday night’s League Pass game in Portland.

It could be worthwhile to tune in to potentially witness the Celtics’ quest to reach 50 wins this season.