Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks loses the ball after running into Nikola Vucevic #4 of the Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics won their fourth straight game on Friday night against the struggling Grizzlies, but struggled themselves in capturing the W. Returning star Jayson Tatum had his worst showing since he came back from a ruptured Achilles tendon, going 3-for-15 from the field. Fellow star Jaylen Brown had 30 points, but was only 10-for-23 from the field. It was, oddly enough, backup center Luka Garza who carried the day, scoring 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting in 27 minutes and adding eight rebounds.
It turns out, too, that Garza may soon see his spot in the Celtics rotation usurped again. That’s because NBC Sports Boston reported that there is now an outline for when Nikola Vucevic will return from the finger injury he suffered early this month.
From Bobby Manning, of CLNS Sports, on Twitter/X: “NBC Sports Boston reporting Vucevic will have an X-Ray in a week and return to contact, play in the final few regular season games if all goes well.”
Nikola Vucevic Broke His Finger a Month Into Celtics Tenure
Vucevic broke the ring finger on his right hand on March 6, and had surgery to fix the finger on March 7. The Celtics gave a recovery timeline of three-to-four weeks to come back, which projected to mean Vucevic would be back on the floor on March 27 at the earliest.
Well, the earliest is not happening. Vucevic will only be getting his X-ray done on March 27, and will need time before coming back after that. The Celtics play a four-game road trip from March 29 through April 3, traveling to Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami and Milwaukee before returning home on April 5.
Vucevic probably could play on that trip, but the Celtics might well decide to leave him home and let him rest before closing out the final week of the season. Boston plays four of its last five at home, with the one trip coming on April 9 in New York.
Luka Garza Leads the Way, For Now
In the meantime, it will not be easy for coach Joe Mazzulla to remove Garza from the rotation again. The Celtics needed him to step in as the backup center during Vucevic’s absence, and he has responded. Coming into the win over Memphis, Garza had averaged 8.3 points since filling in for Vucevic, shooting 54.8% from the field and 46.7% from the 3-point line.
On Friday, Garza’s 22 points were the most he’d scored since 2023.
Garza will get a crack at revenge this weekend, when the Celtics play his old team, the Timberwolves, at TD Garden on Sunday.
Vucevic, a two-time All-Star, is averaging 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Celtics, but it has not been easy–he is shooting just 44.5% from the field, a career low. The injury does make things that much more difficult for his adjustment period.
GettyCenter Luka Garza #52
Nikola Vucevic Adjusting to Celtics’ Bench Role
Garza’s big feast might not last much longer for the Celtics, though. Vucevic had appeared in 12 games for the Celtics, with 11 of those appearances coming off the bench–a role he is playing for the first time in his career. The Celtics want to keep defense-and-rebounding big man Neemias Queta in the starting lineup.
Mazzulla approached Vucevic after he was traded to Boston at the trade deadline about that change.
Said Vucevic: “When I got to Boston, talking to Joe, he had mentioned that and I told him I was open to it. I didn’t mind if my role would be different, if I would come off the bench, if my minutes were different. He asked me to be flexible, to start off the bench and see how it goes. And figure out the minutes and everything.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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