Celtics’ Nikola Vucevic Ruled Out With Injury Against Mavericks In Jayson Tatum’s Season Debut originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Celtics received fantastic news when forward Jayson Tatum announced his return to action against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night, after being sidelined all season due to a torn Achilles.
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However, Tatum’s comeback was somewhat overshadowed in the first half when center Nikola Vucevic left the game with an injury. Early in the second quarter, the Celtics ruled Vucevic out for the remainder of the game with a right ring finger fracture.
The Celtics acquired Vucevic from the Chicago Bulls during the NBA trade deadline in February. Since joining Boston, Vucevic has appeared in 11 games, averaging 11.4 points and 7.8 rebounds, primarily coming off the bench.
All season, the Celtics have been waiting for Tatum to return, and now that he’s finally back, they face the loss of a key player who is crucial for their NBA playoff run.
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The silver lining is that finger fractures typically don’t keep players out for long, but the Celtics need to adjust to playing with everyone on the court. Since Tatum and Vucevic have never played together, it would be beneficial to get a considerable amount of regular season reps together before the postseason kicks off next month.
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