Jeff Green's calf injury shows "no progression," Monday slated as earliest possible return

Jeff Green is frustrated. The calf strain he suffered at last Friday's practice is holding him out much longer than expected. He originally anticipated being able to return to the court last Monday for the Celtics' first preseason game against the 76ers, but according to Celtics coach Brad Stevens, they are being extremely cautious with Green's injury, and the earliest he could possibly return next Monday, October 13th:

The Celtics are being very cautious with their leading scorer’s calf. Stevens told reporters that he is under the impression that Green will not return to basketball activities until Monday, at the earliest.

According to Celtics.com, the fact that Green "continues to see no progression in his injured left calf" is driving him crazy:

“After not missing any games the last couple of years, just missing practice, it sucks,” Green said as the Celtics prepared for an afternoon session at Ryerson University in Toronto. “I want to be out there on the floor. I want to be playing, doing anything involving basketball, any type of movement.

“I’ve never been a guy who sits still for too long, so this is kind of killing me right now.” 

However, the Celtics have been playing quite well in Green's absence with 20 point victories over both the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks, so there is no reason to risk a premature return. Evan Turner has been stepping up since his arrival in Boston, and filling Green's void quite impressively.

In the Celtics' first two preseason games, Turner has averaged 12 points / 7 rebounds / 5 assists per game. In addition, he's shot 47.4 % from the field, 100% from long range, and 83.3% from the free-throw line.

Neither Stevens nor Turner himself are sure what the Celtics are going to do in terms of the line-up when Green is in fact able to return to the court:

“I really don’t know, to tell you the truth,” Turner said on Thursday. “I’m wondering what’s going to go on with that too.”

Stevens spoke with similar uncertainty, saying, “I don’t know yet. We’ll see. I really like the way our wings and guards are playing.”

At least having too many players is a better problem to have than the opposite side of the coin and having too few.

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