Boston Celtics rookie Jared Sullinger will officially miss the remainder of the season. Sullinger injured his back and will require surgery, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. 20-year old Sullinger left Wednesday's game against the Sacramento Kings after just four minutes with what he claimed was spasms. Originally ruled day-to-day, head coach Doc Rivers had said Sullinger was 50-50 to play in Friday night's game against the Orlando Magic. Now he will miss the rest of the season.
The injuries just continue to hit the Boston Celtics. The announcement of Sullinger comes just days after the Celtics lost star point guard Rajon Rondo to an ACL tear for the rest of the season. The team is already hurting in depth and youth and these injuries add to the problems already in play.
Sullinger has had back issues in the past. An All-American at Ohio State, Sullinger battled with injuries during much of his college career. His back was medically red flagged at the NBA Combine, causing him to slide in the draft all the way to 21 where the Celtics selected him. He was originally projected as a possible top pick that year. The team recently moved Sullinger into the starting lineup giving them the youth they needed to help compete. He was proving to be a strong force on defense and was the team's top rebounder once inserted in the starting lineup.
With injuries now to two Celtics' starters, the team elected to activate rookie Fab Melo out of Syracuse. Melo is nursing an injury to his quadriceps that led to his recall from the D-League earlier this week so it is unclear what kind of role he will play.
The question remains of what the Celtics will do with the rest of the season. They currently sit eighth in the East at 22-23. With high profile players out for the season and trade rumors running wild around Paul Pierce, will the Celtics throw the season and look to rebuild for next year?
Team owner Danny Ainge recently stated he had no interest "blowing up" the roster in the wake of the injury Ronda. With Sulligner out now, he may be forced to change his plans if the Celtics want an opportunity to compete for the playoffs.
Sullinger is was currently averaging 6.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in his short time playing for the team.