The Boston Celtics showed up for its 79th game of the season in familiar fashion: short-handed.
Only this time, the injury report has a whiff of finality with Kyrie Irving lost for the season -- and the postseason -- after a bacterial infection detected in his knee will require additional surgery.
Coach Brad Stevens said Friday night before Boston's game with the Chicago Bulls that he believed after Irving's initial surgery on March 24 to remove a tension wire, which the team suspected was the source of the pain in his knee, "We thought (his return) would be closer to three weeks than six the way he was initially progressing.