After suffering a wrist injury during Game 1 of the Boston Celtics ' series against the Orlando Magic , Jayson Tatum did not play in Game 2. His absence did not stop the Celtics from taking a 2-0 lead over the Magic, but his status looms large as the playoffs progress.

The Celtics will resume their series in Orlando in Game 3 on Friday. What remains unknown is whether Tatum will return for that game. The Celtics have a nice cushion in the series already and had the NBA 's best road record during the 2024-25 season, going 33-8.

Following their Game 2 win, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla provided some new details on Tatum's injury while discussing his chances of returning for Game 3.

During his appearance on WEEI's Zolak & Bertrand, Mazzulla did not rule out Tatum's return, but gave more explicit details for what Tatum has been dealing with since injuring his wrist in Game 1.

“There will definitely be a chance,” Mazzulla said. “He’s dealing with a severe bone bruise. He’s day-to-day, and he’s progressively gotten better each day. Yesterday, he went through all the protocols and did everything you should possibly do up to the last moment to try to play. He just wasn’t able to do it, but he’ll go back at it again today, and he’s in that day-to-day process right now.”

Tatum's absence in Game 2 was the first playoff game he had missed in the eight years he had played in the NBA. Before that, he appeared in 114 consecutive playoff games for the Celtics.

Game 3 is on Friday at Kia Center.