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Boston Celtics Get Good Injury News, but Miami Heat Lose Star Player Wednesday Night

It's been a tough stretch of injuries for the Celtics, but their health is starting to turn around
Feb 24, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Boston Celtics center Nikola Vucevic (4) reacts against the Phoenix Suns in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Feb 24, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Boston Celtics center Nikola Vucevic (4) reacts against the Phoenix Suns in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

After about a week of the Celtics dealing with a fairly long injury report, the news is starting to get better for the team. 

Yesterday, the Celtics removed Jaylen Brown (left Achilles tendinitis), Jayson Tatum (right Achilles injury management), Derrick White (right knee contusion), and Neemias Queta (right thumb sprain) from the injury report, clearing all of them to play against the Miami Heat tonight at the Kaseya Center. 

Ron Harper, Jr. remained on the injury report with a right ankle sprain suffered during the win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. Today, the Celtics upgraded him to available, leaving only Nikola Vučević on the report, still with a fractured right ring finger. 

But even that situation is encouraging. 

Vučević was on the floor for shootaround in Miami this morning, going half speed but using both hands. 

There is still a splint on the right finger, but it hasn’t kept him from working on his game. 

“I work with Vuc,” Celtics assistant Amile Jefferson said on the most recent White Noise Podcast. “Which is awesome, because I also played with Vuc in Orlando. He's hurt right now, so we've been doing a lot with his left hand, but it's really cool to work with him.”

He had surgery on the finger on March 7, and at the time the team said he’d be reevaluated in three to four weeks. This Saturday will mark four weeks, and two weeks ago, he was seen on camera telling an official “two more weeks” during a sideline conversation. So he’s close to a return.

Vucevic broke his finger in Tatum’s return game, so the Celtics have not had a clean, “no injuries to report” all season, so maybe they can sneak one in before the season ends. 

While the Celtics got good news today, the Miami Heat did not. Norman Powell was ruled out of the game with an illness. The 32-year-old is averaging a career-high 22.1 points per game and became an All-Star for the first time this season. This will be his third-straight missed game. 

Jaime Jaquez Jr. (ankle), Nikola Jovic (back), and Pelle Larson (triceps) are all available to play. Andrew Wiggins (toe) is questionable.

Miami is a potential first round opponent for Boston. They are currently ninth in the East, but they’ve lost seven of nine games. They are a half-game behind Orlando for eighth, and a chance to avoid a guaranteed second game in the play-in tournament. 

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John Karalis
JOHN KARALIS

John Karalis is a 20-year veteran of Celtics coverage and was nominated for NSMA's Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year in 2019. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016 and has written two books about the Celtics. John was born and raised in Pawtucket, RI. He graduated from Shea High School in Pawtucket, where he played football, soccer, baseball, and basketball and was captain of the baseball and basketball teams. John graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism and was a member of their Gold Key Honor Society. He was a four-year starter and two-year captain of the Men’s Basketball team, and remains one of the school's top all-time scorers, and Emerson's all-time leading rebounder. He is also the first Emerson College player to play professional basketball (Greece). John started his career in television, producing and creating shows since 1997. He spent nine years at WBZ, launching two different news and lifestyle shows before ascending to Executive Producer and Managing Editor. He then went to New York, where he was a producer and reporter until 2018. John is one of Boston’s original Celtics bloggers, creating RedsArmy.com in 2006. In 2018, John joined the Celtics beat full-time for MassLive.com and then went to Boston Sports Journal in 2021, where he covered the Celtics for five years. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016, and it currently ranks as the #1 Boston Celtics podcast on iTunes and Spotify rankings. He is also one of the co-hosts of the Locked on NBA podcast.

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