Kyrie Irving to have a minor surgical procedure on his knee

The injuries keep piling up for the Boston Celtics. On Friday, it was announced that Kyrie Irving would undergo a “minimally invasive” procedure on his ailing knee.

The injuries started piling up for the Celtics on opening night. Gordon Hayward is still rehabbing his injured ankle and now, with Celtics pushing for playoff positioning, the injuries won’t stop coming. Last week it was announced that Marcus Smart would have surgery on his injured thumb. Daniel Theis has had season-ending surgery on a meniscus tear and Jaylen Brown is still working his way back through the NBA’s concussion protocol after a horrific fall on a dunk attempt.

Now, the Boston’s leading scorer, Kyrie Irving will miss time after a minor surgical procedure on his ailing knee, the team announced Friday.

The Celtics don’t provide a timeline for his return but former Cavaliers general manager, David Griffin, thinks he should be back before the Celtics’ playoff run reaches its theoretical conclusion.

Irving is leading the Celtics in points and assists this season. Boston has outscored opponents by just 2.2 points per 100 possessions when Irving is on the bench this season, compared to 5.2 points per 100 when he’s on the court. In Irving’s absence, Terry Rozier will likely see more opportunities. Over his last 10 games, Rozier has been playing 31.0 minutes per game, averaging 15.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists, shooting 43.8 percent from the floor and 39.4 percent on 3-pointers.

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Would appear to have a solid hold on the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference but they play six of their next seven games on the road, and have games against Portland, Utah, Milwaukee and a home-and-home with the Raptors. Boston could have used this crucial stretch to build positive momentum heading into the playoffs, instead it looks like they’ll be fighting just to stay afloat.