Without Jayson Tatum, who do Celtics need to step up most in Game 2 vs. Magic
Jayson Tatum is likely going to miss his first playoff game ever Wednesday night, with the Boston Celtics superstar listed as doubtful for Game 2 against the Orlando Magic at TD Garden. Life without Tatum isn't something the Celtics have had to deal with too much over his eight NBA seasons, and never before in the playoffs.
Tatum doesn't even like to sit out regular season games, missing just 10 contests throughout the 2024-25 regular season. He usually has to be ordered not to play by the Celtics hierarchy, as he did late in the season after Tatum suffered an ankle sprain on a road trip. Tatum simply loves to play basketball and he hates to miss games.
But a right distal radius bone bruise has Tatum listed as doubtful for Game 2. That Tatum is now set to miss a playoff game is pretty worrisome for Boston and the team's bid for back-to-back NBA titles. Since coming into the NBA in 2017-18, Tatum has played in all 114 of Boston's playoff games -- the most of any player over that span.
Jayson Tatum's injury
Tatum sustained the injury in Sunday's Game 1 win when he landed awkwardly on his wrist following a drive to the hoop courtesy of a flagrant foul by Magic forward Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Tatum stayed in the game after the injury and scored seven points off 3-of-5 shooting in just over seven minutes of action after the injury. He had X-rays on the wrist after the Boston victory, which he said came back clean.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla said his his All-Star was considered day to day after Wednesday's practice.
"He was able to do some stuff," said Mazzulla. "He was sore after the game. It's gotten a little better today. He was able to do some on-court work, and we'll go from there."
Celtics without Jayson Tatum
Not having Tatum is a pretty big deal for the Celtics, after he was Boston's leader in points, rebounds, and assists during the regular season. Even if he's not putting the ball in the hoop in an efficient manner, Tatum can affect the game in a number of ways offensively, not to mention his excellent play on the defensive end.
With Tatum likely out the lineup Wednesday, everyone else will have to pick up a little more of the slack. Offensively, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis will have to handle the scoring load, after the duo had just 21 points combined in Game 1. Both need to put up a lot more in Game 2, though Derrick White (a team-high 30 points in Game 1) and Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard will certainly have a hand in it as well.
Brown, who is dealing with a bone bruise of his own in his knee, had 16 points off 6-for-14 shooting in Game 1. He averaged 27.5 points off 48.8 percent shooting against the Magic during the regular season, and scored 35 points in a 108-104 Celtics loss in Orlando when Tatum was out on Dec. 23.
Porzingis had just five points off 1-for-8 shooting in Game 1. Expect a lot more output from the Boston big man Wednesday night, though his defense in the paint will be just as important as whatever points he scores. Defensively, we should see a lot more of the Boston's double-big lineup of Porzingis and Al Horford in Game 2 to combat Orlando's size.
If Brown and Porzingis are being locked down on offense, that will open the door for another big game from White, Pritchard, and even Jrue Holiday. Holiday had just nine points on Sunday, but all of them came in the third quarter as Boston outscored Orlando, 30-18, to take control of the game.
Holiday will also have a huge role on the defensive end in Tatum's absence. Tatum was a big part of Boston's defensive gameplan against Paolo Banchero in Game 1, but Holiday saw a lot of action on the Orlando forward in the fourth quarter. Expect more of that in Game 2, after Holiday held Banchero to 0-for-4 shooting on Sunday.
The Celtics went 8-2 without Tatum in the lineup during the regular season, but both of those loses were at the hands of the Magic. The second of those two loses, however, came when the Celtics didn't play any of their top six players in the final week of the regular season.
The Celtics are looking to take a 2-0 series lead over the Magic with a win Wednesday night. Not having their superstar player will certainly put the rest of the C's star power to the test Wednesday night, but Boston should still be able to beat Orlando -- both in Game 2 and the series -- without Tatum leading the way.
