Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum appeared to dodge an injury bullet late in Monday’s road win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
But as it turns out, the All-Star forward is dealing with an ailment that wasn’t fully known about until after Boston’s 128-112 win over the Detroit Pistons at TD Garden on Wednesday.
Tatum told reporters that he’s “managing” a left wrist injury as he had it taped up for the game — something he’s done for every game on the campaign besides the season opener.
“Same wrist, same hand, something a little different that we’re just managing at this moment,” Tatum said, per NBC Sports Boston. “Nothing that I gotta have surgery, but something that’s bothering me. But just tape it up and go out there and continue to play.”
As Tatum said, it’s the same wrist he hurt last season and aggravated during Boston’s run to the NBA Finals. In August, Tatum told Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks that he played through a non-displaced fracture in his wrist for two months and dealt with persistent pain leading to him getting a cortisone shot in the area following Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“I chipped the bone, but it didn’t leave the surface. It had shown the bone had grew over it, so it had healed,” Tatum said in the interview with Rooks. “But I was still in pain because I kept getting hit or falling on it.”
It’s definitely worrying that Tatum’s wrist is still causing him discomfort, but it hasn’t impacted his play on the court so far. Tatum overcame a “sluggish” start against the Pistons, scoring 26 of his game-high 31 points in the second half. He’s gone over the 30-point mark six times already this season.
Despite the ailment, Tatum isn’t shying away from contact, either. The 24-year-old entered Wednesday’s contest going to the free-throw line 8.9 times per game, by far the most Tatum has gone to the charity stripe in his career.
But as long as Tatum keeps wrapping up his left wrist, it will be something worthy of monitoring.
