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But he fractured his right ring finger in the Celtics’ win over the Mavericks on March 6, the same night Jayson Tatum made his comeback. Right when the C’s looked like they were going to be whole, they had another setback. Vucevic’s injury required him to undergo surgery, and his initial timeframe to return was about three-to-four weeks. “The good thing is I can still do some stuff on the court,” Vucevic said, via the Boston Globe. “That will help me for when I come back (to be in) shape, and hopefully I get a couple games before the playoffs, get back in rhythm with the guys that week between regular season and playoffs, everything going as smoothly as possible.”
The Celtics will hope Vucevic is good to go to have a runway to finish off the season. Having as many matchup possibilities goes a long way with the C’s looking like a real East contender. The timing was unfortunate, but it sounds like Vucevic could return to the lineup in the near future. “So far I haven’t had much pain or anything; everything has been going well,” he said. “The swelling is coming down and been working the range of motion. So hopefully the X-ray is clean at three weeks and I can start doing some stuff and just getting back to being comfortable and building strength in the hand.”
Donovan was asked about Dosunmu’s comments – which he said didn’t see – and in a roundabout way said he was not anti-midrange, he was anti-midrange for players that weren’t efficient at it, which is basically the entire roster that his front office has given him. “To me, I think we let the guys play freely,” Donovan said. “I think when you look at some of the analytical stuff and I was on board with probably this a couple years ago; Zach (LaVine) played in the midrange, Vooch (Nikola Vucevic) played in the midrange, and obviously DeMar played in the midrange. And as great as all those guys are offensively we didn’t necessarily have an elite offense. Their shot making, all three of those guys, had the best shot making of their careers while they were together at different points and time. So I’m not opposed to the midrange. “I think you have to play to players’ strengths, so I’m a believer in the first part of the shot clock you certainly want to try and get something downhill to the basket, and generally what happens is when the ball gets into the paint and the ball gets sprayed out that’s when the threes are going to go up. Most of the time the midrange stuff is coming off iso situations. It’s late clock, a guy is stuck with the ball, and at that time you’ve got to manufacture and generate shots.”
At that point, Garza had played double-digit minutes in 25 consecutive games, establishing himself as Neemias Queta’s primary backup. Vucevic, a former All-Star and perennial NBA starter, was undoubtedly going to shoulder significant frontcourt responsibilities, and it was almost inevitable that Garza’s minutes would decline. To Garza’s surprise, after the trade, teammates went out of their way to encourage and motivate him. “When the Vooch trade happened, obviously, it was an amazing thing for our team, and he’s a great player,” Garza said on Tuesday afternoon at a court renovation in Hyde Park. “But obviously, guys know, as a team, that that would probably impact my minutes a little bit. And, I was just really surprised at some of the guys coming up to me and really just kind of giving me motivating thoughts and being like, ‘Hey, like, stay ready. We’re going to need you. You’ve done good things for us.’”
Boston Celtics: Injury Report for tomorrow vs. WAS: Baylor Scheierman - Right Ankle Sprain - PROBABLE Nikola Vucevic - Right Ring Finger Fracture - OUT Derrick White - Right Knee Contusion - PROBABLE
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Noa Dalzell: Celtics could be without several key players tomorrow vs Thunder Jayson Tatum is QUESTIONABLE with "right Achilles repair reconditioning" Derrick White is QUESTIONABLE with a right knee contusion Nikola Vucevic is OUT Payton Pritchard is PROBABLE (neck spasm)
Noa Dalzell: Jayson Tatum is AVAILABLE tomorrow vs the Cavs. Nikola Vucevic is the only player in the injury report — he’s out with a right ring fracture he had a procedure for this morning.
Marc Stein: The hope in Boston is that Nikola Vucevic is back before the playoffs. The Celtics say he’ll be re-evaluated in three-to-four weeks after surgery this morning to stabilize a fracture in his right ring finger.
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Jorge Sierra: Nikola Vucevic has just passed Rudy Gay in scoring. He's No. 91 all-time now.
Taylor Snow: FINAL: Celtics 114, 76ers 98 Queta: 27 PTS, 17 REB (10 OREB), 3 BLK Brown: 27 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST White: 21 PTS, 5 REB, 8 AST, 2 STL, 2 BLK Scheierman: 12 PTS, 4 REB Vucevic: 11 PTS, 12 REB
