The Boston Celtics released an unexpected injury report ahead of their matchup with the New York Knicks, and the biggest surprise wasn’t who was listed, but who was not. While multiple Boston starters appeared on the report, Jayson Tatum was notably absent despite ongoing Achilles management that has frequently put his status in question this season, creating a sudden shift in expectations heading into a high-stakes matchup.
With an hour to go before tipoff, however, the Celtics updated their injury report. The injury report also indicated that Tatum would sit out Friday’s home game against the New Orleans Pelicans, because he is not medically cleared to play both ends of a back-to-back, according to Celtics reporter Bobby Krivitsky.
The new Celtics injury report not only highlighted how remarkable Tatum’s recovery from surgery to repair a torn Achilles on May 12 last year, less than 11 months ago. Tatum returned to the Boston lineup on March 6 and has played in 15 of the 17 Celtics games since.
The Celtics have won 13 of those games, losing only two.
Now, the Celtics need only one win in their final three games, one Knicks loss, to clinch the No. 2 seed the NBA’s Eastern Conference, in a season when they were predicted to win between 41 and 44 games.
Boston has already won 54, with three to play.
But other than Tatum, their injury outlook did not look encouraging heading into Thursday’s Knicks game.
Tatum Only Celtics Starter Healthy vs. Knicks
The Celtics entered the game against the Knicks with Tatum not only healthy, at least judging by his absence from the injury report, but the four-time All-NBA first-teamer was the only Celtics starter not listed as “questionable” for the game.
“Every Celtics starter except Jayson Tatum is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game in New York,” reported Boston Herald Celtics beat writer Zack Cox. “This is the C’s final back-to-back of the season, so expect some DNPs tomorrow and Friday vs. New Orleans.”
The Celtics face the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night at TD Garden, a team that has already been eliminated from both playoff contention and eligibility for the play-in tournament. At 26-54, the Pelicans have lost as many games as the Celtics have won.
Cox appeared to be saying that Tatum, whose previous missed game came March 30 against the Atlanta Hawks, the second night of a Celtics back-to-back, would sit out the Pelicans game.
The injuries the Celtics listed for the Knicks game however, were:
| Player | Status | Injury / Illness |
|---|---|---|
| Jaylen Brown | Questionable | Left Achilles; Tendinitis |
| Sam Hauser | Questionable | Low Back; Spasm |
| Neemias Queta | Questionable | Right Toe; Sprain |
| Derrick White | Questionable | Right Knee; Contusion |
Celtics Revise Injury Report Before Knicks Game
For Tatum, it was important that he stay off the injury report, as the game marked his first return to Madison Square Garden as an active player since last May 12, when he collapsed on the floor with an Achilles tear in a second-round playoff game against the Knicks, “a traumatic experience for me,” as Tatum described it this week.
Setting foot on the court at the storied New York venue for pre-game practice on Thursday, Tatum said that he was experiencing a flurry of emotions, according to Cox.
“Nervousness, anxiousness. All the things you probably would expect from the last time I played here,” Tatum said, describing his feelings on his return.
The Celtics did get one piece of potentially good news, and one bad one before the game. Guard Derrick White took part in the Celtics shootaround at MSG on Thursday afternoon, an event which would appear to raise his chances of playing in the game.
Closer to gametime, the Celtics revised their report to list White, Queta and Hauser as available, according to Celtics beat writer Noa Dalzell.
Jaylen Brown, the Celtics team-leading scorer at 28.8 points per game — fourth best in the NBA — was downgraded to “Out,” hoewever.
Celtics Make Surprising Jayson Tatum Decision Before Knicks Game