The Boston Celtics have been one of the better teams in the league this season. They currently have a 52-25 record, and they have already locked in a playoff spot. They’re looking to carry that momentum into the final stretch of the regular season.
As they get set to host the Toronto Raptors at TD Garden this Sunday, one question on every Celtics fan’s mind is whether Nikola Vučević will play in this game.
Will Celtics Center Nikola Vučević Play on Sunday?
According to the latest injury report from ESPN, Vučević is listed as Questionable for Sunday’s game with a fractured right ring finger. Now, that might not sound like great news at first. But the thing is that for the 14 games before this one, he was listed as straight-up out.
The fact that his status has moved to questionable is actually a sign that things are moving in the right direction. There’s a real chance he could be back on the court today. Vučević picked up the injury during Boston’s March 6 win over the Dallas Mavericks, a game the Celtics won 120-100.
It happened during the first quarter. Dallas center Moussa Cisse swiped at Vučević’s hand as the ball was being passed into the post, and that’s when the fracture happened. He managed just two minutes before heading to the locker room, and he hasn’t played since.
Since joining the Celtics before the February trade deadline, Vučević has only had the chance to play 12 games for his new team. In that short stretch, he averaged 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. In his absence, Luka Garza has stepped up and is averaging 7.7 points per game.
One good thing for the Celtics going into this game is that Vučević is the only name on their injury report. So, the team is coming in pretty healthy overall. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are averaging 21.4 and 28.7 points per game, respectively, are going to carry most of the offensive load regardless of whether Vučević plays.
Toronto Raptors Injury Report and Roster Update
On the other side, the Raptors aren’t in bad shape either. Only two players are listed on Toronto’s injury report. They are:
Chucky Hepburn: out (knee issue)
Immanuel Quickley: out (foot issue)
That means Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett, who are averaging 21.4 and 19.2 points per game, will both likely be available and ready to push the Celtics. The game is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET, and with both teams nearly healthy, this game could be an interesting one to watch.