With the Dallas Mavericks visiting the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, the matchup was pegged as two early-season MVP frontrunners in Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic facing off against one another.
But that storyline might be taken completely off the table since one MVP hopeful might not be suiting up for the contest.
The Celtics on Tuesday listed Jayson Tatum as questionable for the game due to a left ankle sprain. Tatum twisted his ankle Monday night in a 121-107 loss to the Chicago Bulls when he stepped on the foot of DeMar DeRozan. Despite suffering the ailment, he still played 36 minutes while compiling 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
As the Celtics did with Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Smart, who have both battled injuries during the early part of this season, they could choose to be cautious with Tatum and hold the superstar out, especially with the contest against the Mavericks beginning a stretch of four games in six days for Boston.
Tatum and Doncic, along with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, are seen as the clear top three contenders right now on DraftKings Sportsbook to be the league’s MVP.
Tatum is averaging 30.2, 7.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, which are impressive numbers but actually trail Doncic’s production. Doncic is putting up a league-leading 33.5 points per game to go along with 9.1 rebounds and 8.1 assists.
It would be great to see how Tatum measures up against another MVP candidate, but it might not be a smart move with him dealing with a hampered ankle and a wrist injury he has been “managing.”
The Celtics and Mavericks tip off from TD Garden on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
