The Celtics have lost one of their big men for the foreseeable future.
Center Nikola Vucevic fractured his right ring finger early on during Friday’s 120-100 win over the Mavericks, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
Vucevic is set to undergo a procedure on Saturday and will miss about one month.
Boston acquired Vucevic, 35, near the trade deadline last month from the Bulls in exchange for guard Anfernee Simons.
The move provided the Celtics with a veteran big man to pair alongside 26-year-old Neemias Queta and 27-year-old Luka Garza for the final stretch of the regular season.
The two-time All-Star has made just one start since landing in Boston, averaging 11.4 points and 7.8 rebounds in 23.5 minutes in 11 games.
Vucevic’s injury comes the same day Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum made his return following an Achilles tear he suffered during last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals against the Knicks.
Tatum did have some rust to shake off during Friday’s game, shooting 2-for-8 from the field during the first half.
The six-time All-Star finished the game with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists and a steal while shooting 6-for-16 from the field and 3-8 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Despite being without their star player, Boston has played well this season, sitting second in the Eastern Conference with a 42-21 record.
During an appearance on “The Pivot Podcast” in January, Tatum admitted that he was concerned about fitting into a team that was performing so well without him.
“If or when I do come back this season, they will have played 50-some-odd games without me, so they have an identity this year or things that they’ve felt have clicked for them,” he said. “And it’s been successful. They’re the (second) team in the East up to this point.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
