Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
Celtics post lengthy injury report ahead of Sunday’s Hornets matchup
Four players, including Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, are listed as questionable.
MORE CELTICS
Coming off a 109-102 victory against the Atlanta Hawks Friday without Jaylen Brown, the Celtics could be without Brown again and then some in their next game.
Four players were listed as questionable and one is out on Boston’s Saturday injury report ahead of their Sunday road contest against the Charlotte Hornets.
Brown, Jayson Tatum (right Achilles repair management), Neemias Queta (right thumb sprain), and Derrick White (right knee contusion) are 50/50 shots to suit up. Nikola Vucevic (right ring finger fracture) remains out.
Queta and White all played regular minutes Friday despite appearing on that injury report, as well.
Advertisement:
Tatum notably recorded his most minutes on the court since making his return earlier this month (36) as well as his most points (26). He has sat out only one game (March 12 at Oklahoma City) since making his season debut as part of his injury management plan.
Tatum has played at least 30 minutes in each of the Celtics’ seven contests since that off-day – safe to say he could probably use some rest.
Following Friday’s win, Tatum spoke about some of the difficulties he’s experienced on the parquet over the last three weeks. Shooting has been a struggle for the star, something he called “frustrating”.
Advertisement:
“It’s all over the place. Sometimes I’ll be dribbling the [expletive] ball and I like mishandle,” Tatum said. “Sometimes I still have the ball but it’s just, like, damn. It’s frustrating. Obviously some of the shots and layups at the rim, just kind of moving too fast a little bit. So it’s frustrating to me.”
While Tatum may be frustrated by his individual play, the reality is that Boston has won eight of the 10 games he’s played in. His impact as a top player in the NBA is still there despite not performing to his standards. Head coach Joe Mazzulla spoke about that impact postgame Friday, identifying rebounding as one key.
“I mean, I thought I saw his defensive rebounding,” Mazzulla said of Tatum (via Bobby Krivitsky). Tatum logged 12 rebounds. “I thought that was the most important thing. I thought offensively, he got into the paint, was able to get to the free throw line, shot ten free throws, just continuing to chip away at giving the game what it needs. He was aggressive in his drive, missed some easy layups there, but as long as he stays aggressive, as long as he makes the right read, as long as he continues to rebound, he’s continuing to get better and better.”
Advertisement:
As for Brown, Mazzulla didn’t offer much insight into the player’s Achilles tendinitis Friday. The coach labeled Brown as “day-to-day” and didn’t say when he expected him to play next. It could be a good sign that he wasn’t immediately ruled out of Sunday’s game.
It’s also hard to imagine Mazzulla would downplay an Achilles injury to any player if the team knew it to be severe after Tatum’s own Achilles tear last year.
Brown originally appeared on Thursday’s injury report with calf tightness, but his ailment was changed to an Achilles injury Friday.
The Celtics will submit another injury report on game day and solidify the players’ statuses for their ninth-to-last regular season game of the 2025-26 campaign.
Tipoff between Boston and Charlotte is set for 6 p.m. Sunday.
Be civil. Be kind.
Read our full community guidelines.To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address