Tatum ruled out for Celtics-Magic Game 2 due to wrist injury

Tatum ruled out for Celtics-Magic Game 2 due to wrist injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

For the first time in 2,980 days, the Boston Celtics will play a postseason game without Jayson Tatum.

Tatum won’t play in Game 2 of Boston’s first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday due to a wrist injury the team is labeling as a “right distal radius bone bruise.”

Tatum suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Game 1 when he landed on his right wrist after a hard foul by Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Tatum remained in the game, then received an MRI on his wrist immediately after the 103-86 win.

While Tatum said his wrist felt “all right” following the game and did some on-court work during Tuesday’s practice, the Celtics listed him as doubtful for Wednesday’s game later that afternoon.

Now, Tatum is set to miss the first playoff game of his eight-year NBA career after playing in all 114 of Boston’s postseason contests from 2018 to 2024.

The last time the Celtics played a playoff game without Tatum in the lineup was May 25, 2017, a 135-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals that featured a Boston starting lineup of Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Kelly Olynyk and Al Horford.

The Celtics still will be favored to win Game 2 in Tatum’s absence and went 8-2 without Tatum in the lineup during the regular season. But it’s still a blow for Boston to not have the No. 4 candidate for 2025 NBA MVP who led the C’s in points (26.8), rebounds (8.7) and assists (6.0) per game this season.

Tip-off at TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, with NBC Sports Boston’s coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live.