According to Boston Celtics PR, Jayson Tatum has been downgraded to OUT for Wednesday night’s Game 2 contest against the Orlando Magic. Tatum was originally listed as doubtful to play after it was revealed on Tuesday that he is dealing with a right distal radius bone bruise. Shams Charania of ESPN provided some reporting on the subject on the same day.
“Sources tell me that Jayson Tatum underwent an MRI on that right wrist over the last 24 hours, and he has been diagnosed with a bone bruise in his shooting wrist,” Charania said. “It’s believed to be a pain-tolerance injury, something that the Celtics will be managing day-to-day, and his status is somewhat up in the air for Game 2 on Wednesday.”
“It’s very hard for a guy like Jayson Tatum to miss any period of time. He loves playing basketball, but that injury clearly might be something that lingers for a little bit, for someone who led the Celtics in points, rebounds, and assists for the entire playoffs in 2024, plus the Finals.”
Jayson Tatum is OUT for Celtics vs. Magic Game 2
The issue popped up after a hard fall in Game 1 against the Magic.
Tatum went up for a shot at the rim early in the fourth quarter, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went to contest the shot. He seemingly grabbed Tatum’s arm in the air, bringing him crashing to the ground.
Writhing in pain, Tatum stayed on the ground in a heap for a few moments before finally being helped up by trainers. However, he returned to the game and helped the Celtics finish things off, earning a 103-86 win over the Magic to go up 1-0 in the series.
At practice on Tuesday, Al Horford stated that he believed there was something “extra” to the issue. He noted that he thinks Caldwell-Pope was being too physical with Tatum throughout the game.
“It was about the second or third time that [they], especially KCP, went at him in that way,” Horford said sternly. “So, yeah.”
That said, Horford also noted that he wasn’t trying to retaliate in the moment. He just wanted to make sure his teammate was okay. “It was all about checking on my guy,” he said. “Making sure he was fine.”
In addition, Joe Mazzulla said that Tatum was able to do some things during Tuesday’s practice, but also that he would be “day-to-day” for the time being.
“Yeah, he was able to do some stuff [at practice],” Mazzulla said of Tatum. “He was sore after the game. It's gotten a little better today. He was able to go through some on-court work, and he'll go from there.”
