Shane Larkin‘s injured shoulder has improved but he will be unavailable for the Celtics‘ Game 3 and Game 4 matchups against the Cavaliers and a return in the series is unlikely, tweets NBC Sports Boston’s A. Sherrod Blakley.
Larkin suffered a left shoulder sprain during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals and has not played since. He was ruled out for the foreseeable future after the injury before the Celtics announced he’d miss at least the first two games of the present series.
Boston has battled a plethora of injuries this season which has allowed young players to step up. In Larkin’s absence, Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart have seen an increased workload.
The 25-year-old developed into a solid rotation player during his first season with Boston. He played in 54 regular season game, averaging 4.3 PPG in 14.4 minutes per contest. He will hit a free agency this summer after signing a minimum-salary deal last year.
Shane Larkin is one of those players every team needs, a hustler.