Joe Mazzulla’s Boston Celtics welcome the struggling Dallas Mavericks at the TD Center this evening. The highlight of the game is Jayson Tatum’s return from his Achilles injury suffered 10 months ago. The 28-year-old was named in the starting five tonight alongside fellow superstar Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and the in-form Neemias Queta.

The Celtics started strong in front of their home fans, but less than eight minutes into the first quarter, they suffered their first setback. 35-year-old Montenegrin center Nikola Vucevic appeared to hurt his hand while receiving a pass from his teammate.

With 04:21 left on the clock, HC Mazzulla had to call a timeout. Upon reassessing Vucevic’s injury, the Celtics had to get him off the court and sent in Luka Garza instead. The former Chicago Bulls player left to head to the locker room.

NBA insider and league analyst Shams Charania later provided an update stating Vucevic had suffered a fractured finger on his right hand. The player won’t return for the rest of the game.

The veteran started the season with the Bulls but was traded to Boston (along with a 2027 second-round pick) in February in exchange for Anfernee Simons and a 2026 second-round pick.

This was just his 12th appearance for the visitors, but it ended prematurely. Before his injury, Vucevic was averaging 11.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and two assists in 11 games. He spent just two minutes on the court in the first half and could not add to his stats tally tonight.

Nikola Vucevic Set to Endure Extended Spell on the Sidelines

Following his exit, Celtics fans were left sweating on his injury status, considering the playoffs are just round the corner. However, Charania provided an additional update on Vucevic stating her will undergo a procedure on the fractured finger. This means that the experienced center will spend at least one month (if not more) on the sidelines to recover from this setback.

The European, who made his NBA debut in 2011 for the Philadelphia 76ers, has shown good durability in recent years, playing 76 of 82 games in 2023-24 and averaging at least 64 games per season since 2022-23. His injuries have mostly been short-term, sidelining him for 1-15 games each time, often lower-body strains or illnesses.

No one will argue that Portuguese star Neemias Queta is the undisputed starter at center for Boston. Queta has elevated his game to a new level this campaign, boasting career-best averages of 9.9 points and 8.2 total rebounds per game. Behind him, the Celtics have Bosnian-American center Luka Garza (who replaced Vucevic in the game tonight).

Vucevic’s absence will come as a blow to coach Mazzulla, but he has the arsenal to cope with this setback. Celtics’ fans will definitely note the irony of the whole situation, considering their franchise star just made a comeback tonight, but now they’ve lost another important piece of their roster.