Getty Malcolm Brogdon #7 formerly of the Indiana Pacers.
When the Boston Celtics acquired him, Malcolm Brogdon came to the team with a pretty extensive injury history. Over the past three seasons, all of which were with the Indiana Pacers, Brogdon has played 54 games (out of 73), 56 games (out of 72), and 36 games from 2019 to 2022.
Hence, it set off alarm bells on October 14 when the Celtics confirmed that Brogdon would not return in the second half against the Toronto Raptors during their preseason finale because of a sore right leg.
#NEBHInjuryReport Malcolm Brogdon (sore right leg) will not return.
Dan Greenberg of Barstool Sports had an NSFW response in which he displayed his disbelief.
Other fans used memes to express their issues with the Celtics not being able to stay healthy as a team.
Others used gifs and memes of the phrase, “So it begins,” to indicate that this instance may not be the last time Brogdon misses time because of injuries.
With Danilo Gallinari rehabbing from a torn ACL and Robert Williams III out recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, Celtics fans are understandably on edge when it comes to finding out another player has gotten hurt. That’s especially the case with Brogdon considering his lengthy injury history.
Brogdon’s Injury was Deemed ‘Not Serious’
Brogdon’s unavailability certainly concerned Celtics fans, but all indications are that the right leg issue he suffered against the Raptors won’t be a long-term problem.
Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe confirmed that the injury wasn’t serious. To emphasize that point, he included that Brogdon would probably have played if it was the regular season. That should indicate that Brogdon will be available when the Celtics take on the Philadelphia 76ers on opening night on October 18.
Was told that Malcolm Brodgon’s right leg issue isn’t serious. If it was regular season he’d probably be available.
Himmelsbach then included a picture of Brogdon still being around the team after they had ruled him out for the rest of the game.
Brogdon still in uniform on the Cs bench.
Pictured beside Brogdon was Luke Kornet, who had been cleared to play in the preseason finale after spraining his ankle just before the Celtics’ preseason was about to begin. However, Kornet did not make an appearance.
“As close to a regular season game as possible”
Joe Mazzulla on the plan for tonight’s pre-season finale.
Luke Kornet is available.
Gary Trent Jr, Otto Porter and Chris Boucher out for Toronto.
C’s-Raptors in Montreal @NBCSBoston 7:30.
Brogdon Admits He Chose the Celtics Over Division Rival
In an interview with SiriusXM, which had been transcribed by MassLive’s Brian Robb, Brogdon admitted that Indiana had given him two options to choose from for his next destination: the Celtics or the Toronto Raptors.
“Toronto and Boston popped up. We had a choice to pursue — there wasn’t an offer on the table yet from either of them, but the Pacers came to me and said we could pursue either of them and (asked) which one would I rather pursue. I choose Boston.”
Brogdon later explained that the Celtics’ current state as a team was more appealing to him than the Raptors.
“I thought this team was farther along,” Brogdon said. “They have a superstar in Jayson Tatum and probably another superstar in Jaylen Brown as well. I thought it would be a great fit for me because I wanted to win right now.”
Coming off an NBA Finals appearance, the Celtics are slated as one of the league’s contenders, but the Raptors are considered one of the league’s up-and-coming teams led by the likes of Scottie Barnes. Clearly, Brogdon wanted to be on a team that plans to win now and not later.