Less than an hour before tipoff in Game 2 of the NBA playoffs, the Boston Celtics revealed the status of star Jayson Tatum.
The six-time All-Star is set to miss the first playoff game of his career when the Celtics host the Orlando Magic in the second game of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series Wednesday night.
Tatum has been ruled out with a wrist injury that he picked up during the Celtics’ Game 1 clash, according to ESPN.
He sustained a bone bruise in his shooting wrist after a heavy fall in the Celtics’ opening win over the Magic at the weekend, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania .
After undergoing an MRI to discover the full extent of the problem, the Celtics listed their star power forward as doubtful on Tuesday. That status was then escalated to out Wednesday evening.
Tatum went up to the rim early in the fourth quarter of Game 1 on Sunday, only to be met by Orlando duo Wendell Carter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Jayson Tatum has been ruled out of Game 2 of the Celtics’ playoff series against the Magic
The trio collided, sending him crashing to the floor before he landed awkwardly on his wrist.
He was still able to finish the game and help the Celtics secure a comfortable 103-86 win, but his mom Brandy Cole was still left seething about the incident afterwards.
Brandy, who was in the crowd at TD Garden, could be heard asking her son: ‘You want me to go to the Orlando locker room?’
Jayson smirked before heading into the Boston locker room after the win. The move to protect her son impressed the team’s fan base; including one of their most notable supporters, Barstool CEO Dave Portnoy.
‘Love Tatum’s mother offering to beat up the Magic. We are officially into the annual Tatum playoff rite of passage. The entire world says Tatum sucks while Tatum and the Celtics beat the s*** outta everybody,’ Portnoy said.
The Celtics are the Eastern Conference’s No 2 seed a year after winning the NBA Championship, where they dominated the Dallas Mavericks in the finals.
Tatum was Boston’s leader in points, rebounds and assists on the way to their title victory. That earned him a five-year contract extension last year, worth up to $314million, an NBA record.