Celtics Get Major Injury Boost Before NBA Cup Clash vs. Nets

The Boston Celtics head into Friday’s NBA Cup showdown with the Brooklyn Nets riding the momentum of one of their sharpest defensive performances of the season. In Tuesday’s 113–99 win at Barclays Center

, Boston closed the game with a fourth-quarter chokehold — holding Brooklyn to just 14 points, four made shots and a long stretch where the Nets couldn’t create anything clean.

It was the type of closing effort Joe Mazzulla has been preaching since camp. And it was sparked by one play that flipped the final eight minutes.

With the game tied at 90,

Sam Hauser jumped a passing lane for a steal and hit Neemias Queta for a transition dunk. Mazzulla praised the sequence afterward, saying, “I thought his defense was great, I thought his rebounding was really good, and he had a big-time steal at half court that I thought kind of changed the game.” That moment sparked a 17–3 Celtics run that broke the night open.

Now the two teams meet again at TD Garden, with stakes attached.

Celtics Injury Report: Only One Name Listed

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty ImagesJayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Boston received the update every team wants during a dense

NBA Cup week: their injury report is nearly spotless.

According to the team’s official injury report, the only player listed heading into Friday’s rematch is Jayson Tatum, who continues his recovery from Achilles surgery.

That means the Celtics will have every rotation player available as they continue building rhythm, pace and defensive identity with a new core. The early consistency in health has been quietly important — especially as the team adjusts to a faster style and greater emphasis on forcing turnovers.

Boston has already played a two-game set with the Orlando Magic, saw the Philadelphia 76ers three times and now gets a mini-series with Brooklyn. For a group learning each other’s tendencies, these quick turnarounds against the same opponent are going to matter.

Celtics vs. Nets: Brooklyn’s Side of the Injury Report

On the other side, Brooklyn won’t be fully intact.

Per Erik Slater of ClutchPoints, the Brooklyn Nets will be without

Ben Saraf (left ankle sprain), Cam Thomas (left hamstring strain) and Haywood Highsmith (right knee surgery recovery). In addition, Danny Wolf and Nolan Traore, who logged the final minutes of Tuesday’s matchup, are also unavailable due to G League assignments.

Brooklyn will still have its primary rotation available, but the absences strip away some scoring and wing depth — two things the Celtics exploited heavily in the fourth quarter earlier this week.

Why This Clean Injury Report Matters

Like most teams adjusting to roster changes, the Celtics need reps. Real ones. The kind that come from competitive, semi-playoff environments like the NBA Cup.

Having every standard-contract player active helps them refine offensive timing and clean up defensive rotations. It also gives them a chance to test new combinations and respond directly to what the Nets showed on Tuesday.

With Tatum still sidelined, this stretch has pushed the rest of the group to build new scoring patterns and new leadership habits. Tuesday’s closing run was the clearest example of that growth.

Mazzulla wants pace, physicality and consistency. Staying healthy enough to repeat that formula is a major advantage.

Boston Stay in Control of Their NBA Cup Path

Friday’s rematch will not mirror Tuesday’s game exactly. The Nets will adjust, change coverages and try to disrupt Boston’s rhythm. The Celtics still enter this one with clarity, continuity and a fully available rotation.

In tournament play, that matters.

With another quick turnaround against the same opponent and an almost empty injury report, Boston has a real chance to keep building structure during a week designed for fast improvements.

Former NBA Executive Says Lakers Must Fire Rob Pelinka To Win With Luka Doncic

The Los Angeles Lakers may be quietly entering a moment of serious internal evaluation, and one former NBA executive believes the next major decision should involve the top of the front office. With the

organization shifting toward full alignment under governor Mark Walter, the pressure on general manager Rob Pelinka has intensified. According to a former league executive who has worked with him directly, the Lakers will not maximize the

Luka Doncic era unless a major leadership change is made.

“The Lakers won’t win a title in the Luka era if they keep Rob,” the former NBA executive told Lakers Daily

. “Mark needs to hire someone with a smarter basketball mind than Rob to run the basketball operations.”

The criticism did not stop there. The executive pushed back on the idea that Joey and Jesse Buss were responsible for uncovering

Austin Reaves, noting that Reaves strategically positioned himself to land with the Lakers, making his arrival far less of a scouting triumph than often portrayed. The comments reflect a growing sense that the Lakers’ internal narrative may not match the reality of how key decisions have been made.

“Everyone always gives them credit for finding Austin, but Austin chose to work out for the Lakers and chose not to get drafted by the Pistons so he could land with the Lakers. That was not some grand find by the Buss brothers. That was all Austin and his camp.”

As the Lakers restructure their inner workings, Rob Pelinka has been surprisingly safe from being replaced, but that may not last forever. The new Lakers owner is good friends with Magic Johnson, whom

Pelinka pushed out of the franchise years ago. If Magic wants revenge, he could use his leverage to orchestrate Rob’s exit.

“Mark and Magic are super close. Do not think for a second that Magic has forgiven Rob for all the backstabbing he did.”

These next few weeks will be very telling for the Lakers as they begin to rebuild their franchise from the inside out. With Joey and Jesse Buss now gone, the organization clearly has no problem parting with key members, but firing Pelinka would be an entirely different kind of shakeup.

He helped build this Lakers team, and he set the culture they represent today. He is also the one who successfully traded for Luka Doncic, opening the team’s title window for the next decade.

Still, despite his track record, not everyone believes he knows what is best for the franchise. Some believe he has coasted on luck rather than basketball brilliance. So if Walter wants to truly maximize this window with Doncic

, he will have to at least consider a change at the top, even if it brings uncertainty about the future.

Pelinka’s future now rests in Walter’s hands, and the decisions he makes in the coming months will define the direction of the entire franchise. The Lakers finally have the superstar needed to compete for years to come, but front office stability will determine whether they capitalize on this window or waste it. With the pressure building, every move from here on out will carry championship-level stakes.

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