The good news for the Celtics: Jayson Tatum is back from Achilles surgery after nearly 10 months off.
The not-so-good news: Boston now will be without its other major midseason addition for the foreseeable future.
Before Tatum even registered his first point in Friday’s 120-100 win over the Dallas Mavericks, center Nikola Vucevic fractured the ring finger on his right hand.
Vucevic suffered the injury while battling for position with Mavericks big man Moussa Cisse. In visible pain, he checked out at the next stoppage, was examined on the Celtics’ bench, exited toward the locker room and quickly was ruled out for the rest of the game.
On Saturday morning, the Celtics announced Vucevic had undergone successful open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) surgery at New England Baptist Hospital.
“Vucevic will be reevaluated in 3-4 weeks,” the team said in a statement, “and further updates will be provided as appropriate.”
The Celtics traded for Vucevic ahead of last month’s NBA trade deadline to fortify their frontcourt, sending sixth man Anfernee Simons to Chicago in return. Since debuting on Feb. 6, he’s been a productive, if somewhat inconsistent, addition, averaging 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game. Vucevic’s plus-13.5 net rating since the trade ranks second among Celtics players, trailing only Derrick White (plus-16.2).
Now, the Celtics will need to make do without the 35-year-old for most of their 19 remaining regular-season games. Boston’s regular season concludes on Sunday, April 12, with its first playoff series likely tipping off the following weekend.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla won’t need to adjust his starting lineup, as Vucevic was coming off the bench behind one of the breakout stars of this Celtics season, Neemias Queta. In his first season as an NBA starter, Queta is averaging 10.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 64.5% from the field and ranking in the top 10 in the league in defensive rating and net rating.
“Neemi has been great for us,” Mazzulla said after the 7-footer tallied 16 points and 15 rebounds in Friday’s win at TD Garden. “… I think the evolution of his game, but also the evolution of his mindset, and taking on the ownership and the responsibility of what it means to be the starting center for the Celtics, he takes a lot of pride in that and takes a lot of ownership in that.”
The player most affected by Vucevic’s absence likely will be third center Luka Garza, who was pushed out of the rotation after the veteran’s arrival.
Though he’s played sparingly over the last month, Garza has enjoyed a career year in his first season with the Celtics. The 27-year-old is a talented offensive rebounder and active screener, and he’s shooting 43.0% from 3-point range across 53 appearances. He was a core rotation player from late December until early February, and during that stretch, the Celtics outscored opponents by an average of 15.6 points per 100 possessions with Garza on the floor.
Garza played well against Dallas after Vucevic’s early injury, totaling 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting (2-for-6 from three), three offensive rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes.
Second-round rookie center Amari Williams will be Boston’s third option while Vucevic recovers. The Kentucky product has seen action in 17 games, including two starts, and had his two-way contract converted to a standard NBA deal last month.
Williams’ best outing to date was a nine-point, seven-rebound, two-block showing in a Jan. 26 win over Portland. He also played the final five minutes of Boston’s double-overtime thriller at Brooklyn on Jan. 23, notching a late block to help seal the win after not seeing the floor in regulation.
This position group will face a series of stiff challenges during Boston’s upcoming road trip. The Celtics will visit Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday; Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday; and Chet Holmgren and the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
