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Boston Celtics G Dennis Schroder was ruled out for Christmas Day vs. the Milwaukee Bucks after being placed into health and safety protocols prior to tip-off at 2:30 p.m. ET. The Celtics have a pretty lengthy injury report, so let’s take a look below:
Celtics going for a franchise record injury report:
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) December 24, 2021
OUT (H&S Protocols): Grant Williams, Richardson, Miles, Nesmith, Jackson, Hauser, Freedom, Fernando
QUESTIONABLE (H&S): Horford, Hernangomez, Parker, Thomas. Smart (L Hip Contusion), Langford (L Achilles Tendinopathy)
Update — Smart, Hernangomez, Parker, Langford and Brodric Thomas are all available to play while Horford remains out.
The Celtics could get Al Horford, Jabari Parker and Juancho Hernangomez back in the lineup from H&S protocols. Guard Marcus Smart is a game-time decision due to a hip injury. A handful of names still remain in protocols, most notably Josh Richardson, Grant Williams, Enes Freedom and Aaron Nesmith.
This line has seen a ton of movement and should move again after this news. When the Bucks ruled Giannis Antetokounmpo in, the line shifted from -3 to -7 Milwaukee. Schroder being out hurts the Celtics depth and if Smart is out, this game may not even be close.
With Schroder out and Smart up in the air, look for Romeo Langford and Payton Pritchard to be the top value options for the Celtics on DraftKings. Langford ($3,600) and Pritchard ($3,500) should both see significant playing time and are under $4K. Pritchard has a safer floor and higher ceiling given he’ll probably have to handle the ball a bit more. We could just see Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum take the ball up and do most of the scoring anyway.