The Boston Celtics are facing a turbulent start to their 2025-26 NBA season as they prepare to take on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Friday evening. Coming off a nail-biting 117-116 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in their season opener, the Celtics (0-1) received more bad news just hours before the highly anticipated matchup. Head coach Joe Mazzulla announced that center Luka Garza is out indefinitely due to a concussion, casting a shadow over the team’s preparations for the primetime clash.
According to Bobby Manning of Celtics on CLNS, Mazzulla stated, “No timeline on Luka Garza (concussion).” Garza, who played six minutes and grabbed one rebound in the loss to the 76ers, will be sidelined for an undetermined period, leaving the Celtics short-handed in the frontcourt. The 6-foot-10 center, selected 52nd overall in the 2021 NBA Draft out of Iowa, signed a two-year, $5.5 million fully guaranteed deal with Boston in July, as reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania. Garza’s agents, Mark Bartelstein and Kieran Piller of Priority Sports, finalized the contract, bringing the journeyman big man to Boston after stints with the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves.
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Garza, who has career averages of 4.8 points and 2.0 rebounds across 125 NBA games, has been a reliable depth piece, shooting 48.8% from the field and 31.1% from three-point range. His absence adds to the challenges for a Celtics team already navigating significant roster changes. After a disappointing playoff exit against the Knicks in the second round of last season’s Eastern Conference Semifinals, Boston traded away key contributors Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis and will also be without star forward Jayson Tatum for the foreseeable future. Despite these setbacks, the Celtics still boast a talented roster led by Jaylen Brown, who is set to face off against New York’s Jalen Brunson in what the NBA has billed as a “rematch of last season’s East Semis” on Friday at 7:30 PM ET on Prime.
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The Knicks game marks the second of a three-game road trip for Boston, with a matchup against the Detroit Pistons scheduled for Sunday in Michigan. As the Celtics look to rebound from their opening loss and navigate Garza’s indefinite absence, all eyes will be on Brown and the supporting cast to keep Boston competitive in a stacked Eastern Conference. With playoff aspirations still within reach, the Celtics will need to adapt quickly to overcome this early-season adversity.