Jayson Tatum will not make his season debut Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers — and another Celtics wing could be sidelined, as well.
Baylor Scheierman fractured his left thumb during Saturday’s 148-111 win over the Brooklyn Nets, according to the Celtics, and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game at TD Garden.
Scheierman, who is left-handed, suffered the injury during the first half of the blowout victory. He collided with a Brooklyn player during a fast break and was holding his thumb as he walked off the court.
A member of Boston’s training staff taped the thumb during an ensuing timeout, and Scheierman remained in the game, playing 22 minutes and tallying 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting, six assists, three rebounds, one steal and no turnovers. Shortly after his injury, he whipped a cross-court, no-look hook pass to teammate Sam Hauser for an open 3-pointer.
This is a hell of a pass from Scheierman pic.twitter.com/dyYXYjJasL
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) February 28, 2026
Few Celtics players have boosted their stock more this season than Scheierman, who became a full-time starter in early February. Over the last month, Boston has outscored opponents by 116 points with the 2024 first-round draft pick on the floor, the second-best mark on the team behind Derrick White’s plus-166.
Scheierman has shown massive improvement as a defender while also emerging as one of the Celtics’ most effective rebounders. During that same stretch, the Creighton product ranks third among Celtics players in total rebounds and fourth in assists while committing just eight turnovers in 13 games.
“I think he’s just become a better player,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said on Feb. 11. “I think one, it just comes with time. Just processing information, executing. I think statistically, obviously you’ve seen a big jump in his rebounding. But I think his defensive versatility — he’s guarded point guards; he’s guarded centers — he has a clear understanding of our defensive system and adjustments to that within a game, and he can guard different guys. Offensively, same thing, but he has the ability to kind of read the game in real time.”
There was speculation that Tatum could return from Achilles surgery in Sunday’s game, which was flexed into the primetime 8 p.m. slot on NBC. Boston’s superstar wing has been fully participating in 5-of-5 scrimmages with teammates, according to a report this week from ESPN’s Shams Charania, and is co-producing a docuseries with NBC about his comeback.
Tatum has said his first game back would be at TD Garden, so he also is unlikely to suit up for Monday’s road tilt in Milwaukee. The Celtics will host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday and the Dallas Mavericks on Friday before beginning a tough three-game road trip through Cleveland, San Antonio and Oklahoma City.