It's been two weeks since Nikola Vučević underwent successful surgery to repair his fractured right ring finger and the Celtics in a statement said he'd be reevaluated in three-to-four weeks.
Vučević, who was acquired from the Chicago Bulls just prior to last month's NBA trade deadline, suffered the injury on March 6 against the Dallas Mavericks -- the same game that Jayson Tatum made his return from a torn Achilles. The big man sustained the fracture less than two minutes after checking into the first quarter and appeared to get his finger caught in Moussa Cisse's jersey and immediately felt something was not right.
"I'm not even sure [what happened], Vučević said Friday, per The Boston Globe. "Honestly, I only saw it from the kind of angle where I see my back. But I think he swiped at the ball to try to get it out, and then clipped my hand. I assume our fingers got caught or something. All I felt was like a little pop, so I knew something was wrong right away. A lot of times you usually hope it's just dislocated, you try to put it back. Just a freaky play."
According to Celtics beat writer Gary Washburn, Vučević is reportedly set to undergo an X-ray on March 28 to evaluate his progress and those results could determine if he'll get cleared for contact that may likely led to a return before the end of the regular season.
Vučević, who was averaging 11.4 points and 7.8 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per contest while shooting 44.5% from the field and 35.1% from 3-point range heading into the Mavericks match-up -- which would have been his 12 game as a Celtic -- was just starting to get acclimated to playing with his new teammates after coming off the bench in all but one start since being traded to Boston.
"I was hoping on the X-ray like something different, but it showed a break," he said. "Frustrating with the timing, yeah, very obviously, always frustrating when you get injured. Luckily for me, I mean, the last big injury I had was when I fractured my other hand [in December of 2017]. I haven't really missed any time, but, yeah, frustrating with the timing of it."
In the meantime, Vučević is traveling with the team, working out with his left hand and wearing a large protective splint on his right while still being able to bond with his teammates on and off the basketball court.
"Obviously, the hardest part is that you don't get to play while the team does," he said. "It's been good to be around the guys. I miss being on the court and competing and the toughest part about athletes is when you're injured, you have to miss extended time."
While Vučević hasn't gotten to play much with Tatum yet, the hope is that the two will have time to develop some chemistry before the playoffs start. For now, the 35-year-old big man continues to learn more about Joe Mazulla and the Celtics' offense and defense by watching the games from the bench.
"I'm staying close to coaches and [hearing] what they say and things like that," he said. "Team's been playing well with JT coming back, he's been looking really good. I think he's been playing great, great ball."
The Celtics have 12 regular season games remaining and if Vučević is not cleared before then, Mazzulla will have to rely on the play of Luka Garza, who's been taking advantage of his increased minutes as of late. In his last seven outings since Vooch's injury, Garza is averaging 10.3 points on 60.5% shooting, including a 44.4% mark from deep per contest.
"I love being a part of this team,” Garza told reporters, following his 22-point performance off the bench in the Celtics 117-112 victory over the Grizzlies. "We play hard every single night, no matter what, and I think when you do that, you put yourself in a good position -- especially in a situation like tonight where we obviously have the talent to finish. You play hard long enough, you finally get that rhythm, and everything else takes over."
The Celtics host the Minnesota Timberwolves (43-28) Sunday night at TD Garden and NBC/Peacock will have the tip-off at 8:00 pm ET.
Joel Pavón
No comments:
Post a Comment