Celtics rotation player unlikely to play in Game 2 vs. Knicks

Kristaps Porzingis is trending toward returning for Battle of the Eastern Conference semifinals after missing the second half of Challenge with an illness The Celtics will however likely be without another core member of their rotation Bench sharpshooter Sam Hauser is listed as doubtful for Wednesday s tournament at TD Garden after spraining his ankle during Monday s - overtime loss to the New York Knicks Hauser has been one of the Celtics the bulk reliable -point threats since becoming a core rotation participant last season making of his threes in - and a team-best this season He s been largely silent so far this postseason though scoring zero points in four of Boston s first six games Related Articles Duality at its finest Joe Mazzulla defends Celtics threes in exchange with reporter Joe Mazzulla reveals new detail about Kristaps Porzingis illness What went wrong in Celtics Meeting collapse vs Knicks We just settled Why Kristaps Porzingis exited Celtics Challenge loss to Knicks Joe Mazzulla downplays Celtics shot selection after playoff record -pointers The -year-old wing was not one of head coach Joe Mazzulla s preferred reserves in Match against New York sitting until the third quarter and then suffering his injury four minutes later while fouling Knicks wing OG Anunoby on a -point shot It was the first time in appearances over the last two seasons that Hauser did not see the floor before halftime He went -for- from three and was a minus- in his limited action As for Porzingis he exited midway through the second quarter with an illness and did not return despite participating in second-half warmups Mazzulla revealed Tuesday that his ailment is related to the viral illness that sidelined him for nine games in late February and early March Since he came back I think he s been kind of dealing with it on and off fighting through it working through it doing the best that he can Mazzulla noted I think it was just too much for him in that event I didn t know that was going to happen until I located out about it in that competition But he had been working through it since he got back and he s done a great job of being available It was just tough for him to continue Monday so we ll see kind of how he handles that Porzingis also was inconsistent during Boston s first-round series against Orlando especially as a shooter After hitting of his threes during the regular season he s made just so far in the playoffs and is shooting a team-worst from the field Mazzulla described both players as day to day