The Boston Celtics will honor Hall of Famer Bill Russell by building a statue in his likeness. With Game 3 of their second round series on Saturday, the Celtics are optimistic that their statuesque big man, who actually had some bright moments during a scrimmage in Monday’s practice, will indeed return. The Boston Herald has the details.

“He looked great yesterday,” said Doc Rivers. “He went through the whole practice and looked phenomenal, actually. He had one stretch that was phenomenal. Then by the end of the practice he was struggling to walk, so we’ll see. Game 3 is becoming likely.

“We were scrimmaging,” he said. “We were going up and down and he was playing. It was his first since the seven-minute (regular season) game. It’s still the injury, because he’s dealing with after-affects. Watching him walk on the bus and even this morning it was tough for him.

Whatever it is, we’ll put him on the floor when we put him on the floor, and as long as he’s productive we’ll keep him out there.”

Rivers will make sure the Russell Statue is up to the task before throwing him into live action.

“If he told me today that he could play, and Eddie (trainer Lacerte) told me he could play, then I would go with him,” he said. “He’s big. So when we play him he’s still going to be big. He’s going to be bigger than anybody on the floor. If that’s for two minutes or four minutes, he’s still big. Height matters. But I won’t just risk a player. I won’t do that.”

Celtics fans are hopeful that Russell’s statue will provide the emotion needed to beat the Heat.

[Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Image via Getty]