Celtics aren't in good health

The Boston Celtics are a great basketball team. I think we can all agree on that.

Still, I don't feel very good about this team right now. It's not a talent issue, it's a health issue. In that regard, the C's are in pretty bad shape.

On Wednesday, the Celtics had at least five players ruled out for their game against the Washington Wizards. Such names include: Kyrie Irving (knee), Marcus Smart (thumb), Jaylen Brown (concussion), Daniel Theis (knee) and Gordon Hayward (ankle). Al Horford was also listed as questionable for the game with an illness.

These health issues have battered the Celtics. They were down to 11 healthy guys, six of which are rookies. Remember: this is a team that is supposed to be contending for a title. That's hard to do when nearly the entire opening day starting lineup is out (Jayson Tatum is still kicking around though).

The Celtics won't be hurt forever, so that's good. They're also in a good spot headed into the playoffs. Currently, the Celtics are in second place in the NBA's Eastern Conference; they're four games behind the Toronto Raptors while the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to falter. As I'm writing this, the Celtics are 46-21 this season while the Cavs are 39-28. If that doesn't make you feel somewhat optimistic, then I don't know what will.

Theis is a pretty bad loss for the Celtics. He tore his meniscus and will be out for the rest of the season. Other than that (and Hayward), there is still reason to believe in this Celtics team. We don't know enough about Irving's knee injury yet, so that's a big one to follow. Brown is "making progress" in his recovery, so he should be back in time for the playoffs.

As long as the Celtics are healthy by the time the playoffs roll around, there will be no problem.