ORLANDO — The Celtics have officially put out their injury report ahead of Game 3 against the Orlando Magic, and two starters are on the list: Jayson Tatum is listed as doubtful with a right distal radius bone bruise, while Jrue Holiday is questionable with a right hamstring strain.
Tatum is fresh off the first playoff absence of his 7-year Celtics tenure; after hurting his wrist in Game 1, he was ruled out of Game 2 about 45 minutes before gametime. X-rays showed there was no break after the game, but an MRI later indicated a “severe” bone bruise, as Joe Mazzulla later described it.
What we know about Jayson Tatum’s “severe” bone bruise
In his weekly radio interview on 98.5’s Zolak and Bertrand on Thursday, Mazzulla didn’t rule out Tatum playing in Game 3, but his update indicated the injury was perhaps more severe than initially believed.
“He’s dealing with a severe bone bruise. He’s day-to-day,” Mazzulla said. “He’s progressively gotten a little bit better each day.”
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“Yesterday, he went through all the protocols and did everything he could possibly do, up until the last moment to try and play. Just wasn’t able to do it. But he’ll go back at it again today, and he’s in that day-to-day process right now. He’ll do whatever it takes to put himself in position to play and put our team in position to win. That’s just kind of who he is. We’re just trusting that.”
Tatum has only missed two or more games in a row four times in his career.
Jrue Holiday’s right hamstring strain appears to be new
Jrue Holiday has had a strong first two games so far to begin the postseason, keying a crucial third-quarter run in Game 1 and having an all-around impact in Game 3.
But, Holiday was a surprise addition to the injury report on Thursday afternoon, listed as questionable with a right hamstring strain. Holiday played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter on Wednesday and did not appear to be limited.
Outside of Tatum and Holiday, no other Celtics were on the injury report. Jaylen Brown, who has battled a bone bruise in his right knee since mid-February, continues to play through the pain. He rested for the final three games of the regular season, and received pain injections ahead of the postseason.
Al Horford is likely to continue starting in Tatum’s absence. Payton Pritchard or Sam Hauser are likely to replace Holiday in the starting lineup, should he miss Game 3 with the hamstring strain.
The Celtics, who now have a 2-0 lead against the Magic, will hold shootaround on Friday morning ahead of Game 3.
