Barbosa sick, questionable for tomorrow night vs. Minnesota
Barbosa still sick. Unclear if he'll play tomorrow.
— Greg Payne (@GregPayne_ESPN) December 4, 2012
With Rondo scheduled to return to the line-up, and Courtney Lee playing his best basketball of the year the Celtics could probably go without Barbosa without missing all that much. However you have to wonder how much the illness played into the Brazilian Blur's off night in Milwaukee (13 minutes, 0-4 shooting, Celtics were -11 in his time on the court). A not quite as sick Barbosa could have made the difference in what was a one possession game for much of the 4th quarter.
All in all though signing Barbosa just days before the start of the regular season has worked out very well. He's given the Celtics 14 quality minutes a game, averaging 6.2 points and is shooting well (44% from the field, 42% from three). Bench scoring is not all that easy to find, especially for the minimum.
However with Avery Bradley closing in on a return, Boston backcourt is about to get very crowded. It will be interesting to see how Bradley's insertion into the line-up effects the guard rotation. You have to imagine that Terry, Lee and Barbosa will all see a decrease in minutes, at least until Doc figures out what rotation makes the most sense.
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