Report: Malcolm Brogdon expected to play in Celtics-Heat Game 7 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
It appears the Boston Celtics will be back to full strength for Monday’s winner-take-all Game 7 at TD Garden.
Malcolm Brogdon is expected to play in Monday night’s finale of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat after missing Game 6 due to a right forearm strain. Andscape’s Marc J. Spears reports.
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Brogdon, who is officially listed as questionable on Boston’s injury report, participated in the Celtics’ shootaround Monday morning and did not seem to have any restrictions with his shot.
That’s a good sign for the Celtics, who could use Brogdon’s scoring impact off the bench. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year averaged 14.9 points per game this season (third on the team behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) and tallied 19 points in Game 1 of the East Finals before exacerbating his arm injury, which first cropped up during the second round.
Brogdon hasn’t been the same since Game 1; he scored just two points total on 1 of 13 shooting in Games 3, 4 and 5 before sitting out Game 6.
Even with Brogdon back in the lineup, expect to see plenty of Marcus Smart (44 points in his last two games) and Game 6 hero Derrick White, who has been excellent on both ends for Boston of late.
NBC Sports Boston’s coverage of Game 7 begins at 7 pm ET on Monday night, with tip-off set for 8:30 pm ET at TD Garden.