The Boston Celtics might be without their franchise star in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic. Jayson Tatum has officially been listed as doubtful with a bone bruise in his right wrist following a hard fall late in Game 1.
With 8:28 left in the fourth quarter of Boston’s 103-86 win, Tatum went up strong for a dunk when he was hit mid-air by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The contact sent Tatum crashing awkwardly to the floor on his right side. The foul was reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant, but Tatum stayed in the game, finishing with 17 points on 8-of-22 shooting in 40 minutes.
Postgame X-rays came back clean, but the pain and swelling persisted. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla described Tatum as “day-to-day” and noted that he was only able to participate in limited on-court work during Tuesday’s practice.
“He was sore after the game, has gotten a little bit better today,” Mazzulla said. “He was able to go through some on-court work and we’ll go from there.”
Veteran big man Al Horford spoke out after practice, suggesting that the foul from KCP was excessive, noting it wasn’t the first time Tatum had taken hard contact from him that night.
“There was something extra there,” Horford said. “It was about the second or third time especially that KCP went at him in that way.”
If Tatum can’t go in Game 2, the Celtics will need to adjust. Mazzulla has a few options—he could start Horford next to Porzingis for size, or go small with sharpshooter Sam Hauser or sparkplug guard Payton Pritchard.
Boston is up 1-0 in the series, but losing Tatum—at least temporarily—adds an unexpected wrinkle to what was shaping up to be a dominant opening round.
