Joe Mazzulla revealed on Thursday that Jayson Tatum’s right wrist bone bruise is “severe.” Still, the Celtics’ head coach maintained that there’s still a chance Tatum will play in Game 3 against the Magic on Friday night, after missing Game 2 on Wednesday.
“He’s dealing with a severe bone bruise. He’s day-to-day,” Mazzulla said in his weekly interview on 98.5’s Zolak and Bertrand. “He’s progressively gotten a little bit better each day.”
Tatum suffered the wrist injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Game 1 between the Celtics and Magic after taking a hit from Magic forward Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on a drive. Caldwell-Pope was issued a flagrant foul (penalty one) for the play, and Tatum stayed in the game after the hit.
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The six-time All-Star confirmed to reporters after the game that X-rays came back clean, but an MRI later showed he suffered a bone bruise.
Ahead of Game 2, Tatum was listed on the official Celtics’ injury report as “doubtful” with a right distal radius bone bruise.
“Yesterday, he went through all the protocols and did everything he could possibly do, up until the last moment to try and play,” Mazzulla said on Thursday. “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.”
The Celtics took a 2-0 lead against the Magic without Jayson Tatum
In Game 2, the Celtics took care of business without their leading scorer, with Jaylen Brown erupting for 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals, while Derrick White added 17 points and 5 assists. Payton Pritchard, just a day after being named Sixth Man of the Year, added 14 points off the bench.
Mazzulla said he knows that Tatum is doing everything he can to be available again as soon as possible.
“He’s doing whatever he can, every minute of the 24 hours, to put himself in position to try and be out there on the court,” Mazzulla said. “I trust his process, I trust his mindset, I trust the people around him that help put him in position. That’s all we can do.”
