WALTHAM, Mass. -- Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder said an MRI on his injured left elbow confirmed no structural damage, and while Crowder deemed himself day-to-day, he appears unlikely to suit up for Wednesday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Crowder, who spoke to reporters with his left elbow wrapped in ice, did not practice Tuesday and said he's waiting for swelling and tenderness to subside in the elbow. He remains uncertain how exactly he injured himself but noticed the swelling in the third quarter of Sunday's win in New York and took himself out of the game.
"No structural damage, so [that's] pretty good," Crowder said. "Very, very tender and sore right now. I sat out of practice [Tuesday] and hopefully when I wake up [Wednesday] we'll have a better sense of if I can play tomorrow night.
"I think it's a day-to-day thing, but I do have [a late-season ankle injury last season] in the back of my head [and] the possibility of going into the playoffs as close to 100 percent as possible. That's how I'm going to gauge it, day-to-day. But, of course, if I feel like I need to take time before playoffs, I will do so."
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said he'd defer to team trainer Ed Lacerte and Crowder on whether he was able to play but noted the team has exercised caution with its players throughout the season.
"Obviously he's very sore [Tuesday]," Stevens said. "He did some shooting before practice, did not practice at all. So we'll see. But, obviously, yeah, we're always going to be [cautious]. If he could injure it further or if it's anything but just dealing with the nagging pain, then we would err on the side of being conservative for sure. But, ultimately, that's his call and Eddie's call. That won't be my call."
What would not having Crowder mean for the Celtics?
"We're different when we don't have anybody out there but especially [Crowder]," Celtics All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas said. "He can guard multiple positions. He can space the floor and hit the 3-point shot. If he doesn't play, we'll be a little different, but we'll try to figure it out the best we can. I think it's been like that all season. With guys being out, we've just got to figure it out on the go. But he's a big part of what we do here and hopefully he'll be ready [Wednesday]."
The East-leading Celtics have had their preferred starting lineup of Thomas, Avery Bradley, Crowder, Al Horford, and Amir Johnson just 32 times this season and own a 24-8 record in those games.
As Crowder is forced to potentially sit out, the Celtics could get another starter back in Bradley, who sat out the past two games with a stomach bug.
"[Bradley] looked great today. Looked fresher," Stevens said. "I thought both games at home last week he looked like he was still fighting the aftereffects of being sick. Obviously with it recurring, it did give him a chance to get some rest, which has been good. And he feels pretty fresh today. He looked good."
Bradley has missed 27 games this season, most of them due to an Achilles injury but with four games due to three instances of the stomach bug. After going through Tuesday's practice, Bradley deemed himself a bit drained from the illness but ready to play against Cleveland.
"I think the doctors and stuff just saw how I was looking [last week] and how my body was looking, and they just said it wasn't smart for me to play," Bradley said. "They didn't want to put me in a situation where I could have potentially got an injury. I just wasn't feeling good. ... I'm just trying to stay hydrated, making sure I'm getting IVs and drinking water."
