Inside The Celtics

The Latest on the Celtics' Stars' Injuries

The Celtics are already without Jaylen Brown; will Jayson Tatum have to miss time too?
Bobby Krivitsky|
Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

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Boston Celtics

In Wednesday's 125-114 win against the Pelicans, Jaylen Brown registered a season-high 41 points, erupting for 18 in the third quarter. He entered halftime with 18 points and ten rebounds, representing the first time in his career he's produced a double-double in a single half.

But after the game, Brown shared with NBC Sports Boston's Abby Chin that he tweaked his groin during the win.

A day later, during Joe Mazzulla's pregame media availability ahead of the Celtics' 109-98 victory over the Nets, Boston's bench boss said he anticipates Brown, who's dealing with a right adductor strain, will be out "about a week or so."

As for the other half of the Celtics' star tandem, shooting-wise, Jayson Tatum had trouble finding his rhythm in Boston's win in Brooklyn, converting on only 7/22 field goal attempts (31.8 percent), including going 2/10 from beyond the arc. But along with producing 20 points, he grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out five assists, and swatted a Kyrie Irving three-point attempt.

Post-game, Tatum, who probably has more tape on his left hand and wrist than any other player in the league, discussed playing through multiple injuries to an area that's rather important to someone who plays basketball for a living.

"If you look at my hand, I've got tape on my wrist, tape on my thumb, (and) I have to tape my middle finger and ring finger together."

While the silver lining is that these ailments are in his non-shooting hand, if it ever reaches the point where he may have to stay on the sideline, Tatum said, "that's something me and Brad will fight about."

Tatum, who expressed Thursday he "loves to play too much to sit out," dealt with a wrist injury during Boston's run to the NBA Finals last season. In a sit-down interview with Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report this past summer, the MVP candidate revealed he dealt with "somewhat of a fracture for two months."

As he discussed post-game on Thursday, he then hurt it again in the Celtics' opening night win over the Sixers at the start of the current campaign.

While it's a situation that warrants monitoring, it hasn't stood in the way of Tatum generating the second-most points, the fifth-most per game, averaging 30.6 per contest, and the seventh-highest usage rate, as seen on the leaderboard section of his basketball-reference.com page.

Tatum's doing this while logging the third-most minutes in the NBA, playing in 41 of Boston's 43 games this season, living up to the best ability is availability mantra.

Further Reading

Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Win vs. Nets: Boston's Supporting Cast at Center of C's Fifth-Straight Victory

The Top 5 Plays from Thursday's Celtics-Nets Game

Delaware North, TD Bank Officially Come to Terms On Long-Term Deal for Arena Naming Rights

This Insane Stat Shows Just How Dominant Celtics Have Been so Far This Season

Knicks Reportedly Interested In Trading Wing, Should Celtics Consider Deal?

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Bobby Krivitsky
BOBBY KRIVITSKY

Bobby Krivitsky's experiences include covering the NBA as a credentialed reporter for Basketball Insiders. He's also a national sports talk host for SportsMap Radio, a network airing on 96 radio stations throughout the country. Additionally, he was a major-market host, update anchor, and producer for IMG Audio, and he worked for Bleacher Report as an NFL and NBA columnist.

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