Is Jayson Tatum Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Celtics vs. Hornets)

UPDATE: Jayson Tatum is AVAILABLE on Sunday.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum missed the beginning of the 2025-26 season after he tore his Achilles in last season's playoffs, but he returned in March -- less than 10 months after the injury.

The star forward has appeared in 10 of Boston's last 11 games, but he's on the injury report for Sunday's contest with the Charlotte Hornets. Tatum (Achilles injury management) is listed as questionable for this matchup along with Jaylen Brown, Neemias Queta and Derrick White.

Injury Report for tomorrow at CHA (1/2):

Jaylen Brown - Left Achilles Tendinitis - QUESTIONABLE
Neemias Queta - Right Thumb Sprain - QUESTIONABLE
Jayson Tatum - Right Achilles Repair Management - QUESTIONABLE
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 28, 2026

Oddsmakers seem to think that all of Boston's top rotation players are 50/50 to play in this game, as the C's are 1.5-point road underdogs in the odds at DraftKings.

The C's are 8-2 in the games that Tatum has played in this season, and he appeared in Friday's win against the Atlanta Hawks even though Brown (Achilles) was ruled out. Boston certainly doesn't want to push Tatum too far ahead of the playoffs, but the All-NBA forward has played over 30 minutes in seven straight games.

He's averaging 19.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game this season while shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from deep. The C's are hoping that Tatum can find his offensive groove by the time the playoffs roll around, but he's an upgrade in their rotation regardless of how he plays.

Charlotte has been one of the better teams in the NBA since Jan. 1, so Boston could be in trouble if Tatum or Brown ends up sitting on Sunday. This game is the front end of a back-to-back for Boston, which will play Atlanta again on Monday. It's likely that Tatum will sit out at least one of the two games.

This story will be updated with Tatum's final status for Sunday's game against the Hornets.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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