Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder Downgrade Stars Ahead of Thursday Matchup

The highly-anticipated game between the OKC Thunder and Boston Celtics will be lacking a bit of star power as both teams have downgraded key players.

Jan 5, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket as Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) defends during the third quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The highly-anticipated game between the OKC Thunder and Boston Celtics will be lacking a bit of star power as both teams have downgraded key players. 

The Thunder have ruled out Jalen Williams, who has missed significant time with a hamstring injury. It will be his 12th-straight missed game. Williams has only played in 26 games so far this season. 

Isaiah Hartenstein is also out with a left calf contusion. This will be his third-straight missed game. Alex Caruso had missed two games with a bruised left hip, but he is no longer on the injury report. Chet Holmgren will return after missing OKC’s last game with an illness. 

The Celtics have four key players on the report. Nikola Vučević is no surprise. He’s out for at least a couple more weeks as he recovers from surgery to fix a broken ring finger on his shooting hand. 

Payton Pritchard remains on the report, but he’s now listed as probable for the game with a neck spasm. He missed the Spurs game with the neck issue, and his absence really hurt their chances after Jaylen Brown was ejected. The Celtics were very short on playmaking and could have used him. 

They will need him now that Jayson Tatum has been downgraded to out for right Achilles injury management. Him missing additional time was always on the table as they put him through this next stage of his rehab. He has been making good progress so far, and has expressed some frustration about his minutes restriction.

“I could have played more,” Tatum said after the Spurs game, his third game back, all of which have limited him to about 27 minutes. “I understand the bigger picture. In the moment, I’m not thinking about my Achilles. I’m trying to compete, I’m trying to be out there, but it’s part of the plan so I gotta stick with it.” 

Derrick White is still listed as questionable a right knee contusion. He hit the floor late in the game against San Antonio and was seen getting it stretched out by trainers. The way it was being worked on made it initially seem like a cramp, but then he was on the bench with a wrap on it before returning to finish the game. He'll likely try to give it a go before the game and then make a decision from there.

This space will be updated when his status is updated by the team.