Jared Sullinger out for rest of season
— -- LOS ANGELES -- Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger will miss the remainder of the season with a left metatarsal stress fracture, the team announced Sunday.
He said he felt some discomfort in the foot the day after Boston closed the first half of the season with a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 11. Sullinger removed himself from Boston's practice when the team reconvened in Sacramento on Wednesday, and team trainer Ed Lacerte took him for initial tests Thursday that revealed the foot injury.
Sullinger returned to Boston on Saturday for further testing that confirmed a fracture, and the team elected to shut him down with only 53 days remaining in the regular season. The Celtics are 20-32 and (through Saturday) only 1½ games behind in the race for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
"Supposedly it happened in the Atlanta game, and he was talking a little bit about it [Wednesday] with regard to feeling some discomfort, and so he went through a little bit of practice then pulled himself out," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said earlier this week. "Ed took him to get the X-ray [Thursday]."
Sullinger wore a protective walking boot over his left foot as he watched practice in Sacramento on Wednesday. He was emphatic that he wouldn't need surgery but didn't seemed optimistic about a return.
The loss of Sullinger leaves Boston thin up front. The Celtics were hoping to get second-year big man Kelly Olynyk back shortly after the All-Star break, but he remains sidelined by a right ankle injury that has caused him to miss 12 straight games.
The Celtics will get some help up front after recently acquired Jonas Jerebko joined the team Saturday. Boston has used Tyler Zeller and Brandon Bass in the starting lineup without Sullinger and Olynyk, and Shavlik Randolph, acquired in January, got his first action since joining Boston on Friday night in Sacramento.
Sullinger's rookie season ended after 45 games in 2012-13 due to a back injury. He appeared in 74 games last season. Sullinger was averaging 14.4 points and 8.1 rebounds over 28.7 minutes per game this season.
