The Boston Celtics have listed star forward Jayson Tatum as doubtful to play in Game Two of their first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic. Tatum is currently dealing with a distal radius bone bruise in his right wrist.
“He was sore after the game. It’s gotten a little better today,” said Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla earlier today. “He was able to go through some on-court work, and we’ll go from there.”
During the fourth quarter of Game One, Tatum was fouled while driving for a layup by the Magic’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. After he was fouled midair, Tatum took a hard fall to the ground, which led to him hurting his right wrist. Once he got up off the ground, he went back to the locker room for further medical examination before returning to the game.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was given a flagrant foul 1 for this play on Jayson Tatum. pic.twitter.com/g2xnIzkuTm
— ESPN (@espn) April 20, 2025
“There was something extra [there],” said Celtics center Al Horford. “It was about the second or third time that — especially KCP (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope) — went at him in that way.”
“I’m not sure what goes into [plays like that],” he continued. “Only thing I would say is that it’s the playoffs, so the game is going to be more physical, it’s going to be more intense. I feel like those plays are probably going to happen more often than not.”
NBA Sixth Man of the Year award nominee and Celtics guard Payton Pritchard also noticed that the Magic were trying to play with more intense physicality, but he was not bothered by Orlando’s play style.
“I don’t feel intimidated,” Pritchard said. “Obviously, they fouled him hard, and then he had a little fall, but it’s not going to stop us from what we’re trying to achieve. It’s not going to knock us off our path… They can try it. See if it works. We’re gonna go ahead into the game and do what we do.”
The Celtics are 8-2 in games played without Jayson Tatum this year. Both of those losses came against the Magic. However, one of them was a night where all the starters sat in April.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) April 22, 2025
There was a brief moment after the injury occurred when it appeared Joe Mazzulla held back the Celtics’ training staff before shouting at Tatum, “Get up.” But the coach said that he was expressing “love.”
“I think at the end of the day, I’m grateful for the relationship that I have with the guys,” explained Mazzulla. “I’m grateful for the relationship that I have with him. And you love guys in different ways. But everything is built on love. Everything is built on the relationship that we have, their self-expression. They allow me to be who I am. And we have a trust for each other, but it all starts with love. And so in that moment, it looks different in different moments, but I appreciate who he is as a competitor and our team in that moment, but it all starts with that.”
