Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has been diagnosed with a `severe` bone bruise in his wrist and is listed as doubtful for Friday`s Game 3 in the first-round series against the Orlando Magic, according to Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla.
Speaking Thursday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, Mazzulla confirmed Tatum is “dealing with a severe bone bruise, and he`s day-to-day.” He noted that Tatum has shown daily improvement and “went through all the protocols and did everything you can possibly do up until the last moment to try and play and just wasn`t able to do it” the previous day.
Tatum suffered the injury when he took a hard fall on his wrist during Boston`s 103-86 victory in Game 1 last Sunday. As a result, he missed their 109-100 win in Game 2 on Wednesday.
The team`s injury report for Game 3 is also concerning for the Celtics, listing Jrue Holiday with a right hamstring strain and Jaylen Brown with right knee posterior impingement, both as questionable.
During his interview, conducted before Holiday and Brown`s statuses were updated, Mazzulla had stated there was “a chance” Tatum could play Friday. In a comment that was difficult to discern if humorous or serious, he added that he doesn`t talk to team doctors and thus couldn`t say if Tatum`s injury requires significant recovery time.
Mazzulla expressed full confidence in Tatum`s commitment to recovery. “All I can tell you is, at the end of the day, he`s doing whatever he can, every minute of the 24 hours to put himself in position to try and be out there on the court,” Mazzulla said. “I trust his process, trust his mindset, trust the people around him that help put him in position and that`s all we can do.”
Wednesday`s victory demonstrated the Celtics` ability to manage without Tatum in this series, provided other key players remain available. However, the potential absence of both Holiday and Brown would significantly increase the challenge for Boston and reduce their margin for error as they advance deeper into the playoffs.
Jasper Hawthorne