Jayson Tatum Injury Update: Is Tatum Playing vs. Magic Tonight?

The Celtics dominated the Magic to win Game 1 at TD Garden, 103-86, on Sunday. The two teams meet for Game 2 tonight in Beantown at 7 p.m. ET on TNT and Max, but the Celtics are unlikely to have star Jayson Tatum on the court.

Jayson Tatum sustained a right wrist injury in the fourth quarter of Game 1 after going up for a dunk. Tatum finished the game, but his status does not look promising for Game 2 vs. the Magic.

Celtics G Derrick White torched the Magic for 30 points in the series opener, while Payton Pritchard put up 19 points off the bench.

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Jayson Tatum Injury Update for Wednesday, April 23

According to the Celtics official injury report, Tatum is listed as doubtful with a bone bruise on his right wrist — his shooting hand. 

The injury came on a flagrant foul from Magic SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in Game 1, where Caldwell-Pope grabbed Tatum’s wrist as he went for a dunk. Caldwell-Pope defended the foul, saying: “This is how I play … a hard foul is a hard foul.”

Tatum missed 10 games during the regular season due to different ailments, but this would be the first playoff game missed in his career.

Will Jayson Tatum Play Tonight vs. Magic?

Tatum is unlikely to play on Wednesday in Game 2 against the Magic in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. 

Who Will Benefits Without Tatum?

Pritchard, who was just named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, has scored the most points on the Celtics this season (568) when Tatum is off the floor, though he’s also played the most minutes without Tatum.

Pritchard knocked down only two 3-pointers in the first three meetings with the Magic, but hit four treys in the Game 1 victory.

Jaylen Brown owns the highest usage of any Celtic without Tatum at 32.9%, followed by Krtisaps Porzingis at 28.1%. Sam Hauser has posted the most points per possession at 1.42.

Over his career, Brown has averaged 27.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in 39 games without Tatum. However, this year, in seven games without Tatum, Brown only averaged 22.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game.

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Celtics SG Derrick White averaged 20.7 points, 5.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in eight games without Tatum this year.

Porzingis leads the team in points per game without Tatum, as 23.4 points per game, plus 8.4 rebounds — both increases from his season averaged (19.5 and 6.8, respectively).

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It’s worth noting that we can expect this to be a slow game, far below the average possessions for NBA games. Over the final 15 regular season games, the Celtics ran at the slowest pace in the league (93.35 per game) and the Magic ranked 27th (96.37).

Best Celtics Player Picks vs. Magic for Game 2

Here are the most popular Celtics player picks vs. the Magic tonight, via PrizePicks.

• SG Derrick White — 16.5 Points
• SF Jaylen Brown — 28.5 Pts+Rebs
• SF Jaylen Brown — 3.5 Assists (Goblin)
• PF/C Kristaps Porzingis — 26.5 Pts+Rebs
• G Payton Pritchard — 1.5 3-Pointers Made (Goblin)
• C Al Horford — 8.0 Rebounds

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Make Magic vs. Celtics Picks on PrizePicks

The Celtics have plenty of firepower to lean on in the likely event Tatum doesn’t suit up tonight. Even without Tatum, the Celtics are expected to win this game.

However, the Celtics would love to have their All-Star in the lineup this evening to secure a 2-0 series lead over the Magic.

Tonight’s NBA Playoffs matchup in Boston between the Magic and Celtics gives us plenty of top NBA players to consider on PrizePicks.

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