Boston will be without two starters for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, with Al Horford entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols and Marcus Smart unable to play due to a midfoot sprain.
The Celtics announced those updates Tuesday afternoon, about three hours before Game 1 of the series against the Miami Heat.
Smart injured his foot Sunday in Game 7 of Boston’s East semifinal victory over Milwaukee. He had been listed as questionable earlier in the day, though Celtics coach Ime Udoka warned after the team’s morning practice that the league’s defensive player of the year was still dealing with considerable pain.
Horford added to Boston’s lineup dilemma. The veteran forward averaged a team-best 13.0 points and 10.4 rebounds in the Celtics’ seven-game win over Milwaukee, starting all of those games.
Smart played in six of the seven games against Milwaukee. He missed Game 2 due to a quad injury.
Miami had already ruled out point guard Kyle Lowry for Game 1 due to a hamstring injury.
