Celtics Issue Concerning Injury Update On Jayson Tatum Ahead Of Game 2

The Boston Celtics can always count on Jayson Tatum to take the floor in a playoff game.

But that might not be the case for the first time Wednesday when the Celtics host the Orlando Magic in Game 2 of the first-round playoff series.

The Celtics on Tuesday listed Tatum as doubtful for the matchup due to a right distal radius bone bruise in his wrist. Tatum has never missed a playoff game in his eight seasons in the NBA.

Tatum suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Boston’s Game 1 win. Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope grabbed at Tatum’s elbow as he went in for a dunk and the swipe threw off Tatum’s balance. The Celtics star landed hard and awkwardly on his wrist and he stayed down on the court for several minutes in pain. He remained in the game and Caldwell-Pope was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul after video review.

Tatum got an X-ray following the game, which he said came back “clean,” and Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla described Tatum’s status as “day-to-day” after being limited in Tuesday’s practice.

“He was able to do some stuff,” Mazzulla told reporters, per the Boston Herald’s Zack Cox. “He was sore after the game. He’s gotten a little better today. He was able to do through some on-court work and go from there.”

ESPN’s Shams Charania added further context to Tatum’s injury, stating the six-time All-Star went for an MRI and that the bone bruise is believed to be a “pain tolerance injury” that the Celtics will have to manage for the time being.

The Celtics played 10 games without Tatum during the regular season, going 8-2 in his absence. But both of those losses came to Orlando, including one contest in which Mazzulla sat Boston’s entire starting lineup.