Nikola Vucevic of the Celtics during a game as questions emerge about his injury return timeline
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Nikola Vucevic in action for the Celtics. The veteran center may have hinted at a more precise timeline for his return from injury.
Boston Celtics center Nikola Vučević may have just revealed more than intended about his injury timeline, and what he appeared to say could point to a much clearer return date than previously expected. After initially being given a three-to-four-week recovery window following surgery on his fractured finger, his comment may point to a more precise return target, according to a longtime Celtics insider.
The Celtics acquired Vučević at the trade deadline from the Chicago Bulls in a deal that sent shooting guard Anfernee Simons and his 14.2 points per game to Chicago. The 15-year veteran Vučević got into 12 games for the Celtics before breaking his right ring finger in what he described as “a freaky play”
The injury came in the same game that Celtics’ four-time All-NBA First Teamer Jayson Tatum returned from an Achilles tendon tear after just 10 months. If accurate, the timeline would put Vučević back on the floor sooner than many around the team anticipated.
Video Shows Vučević Allegedly Revealing Real Timeline
Speaking to the media on Friday night after the Celtics’ hard-fought 117-112 road win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Vučević said he was due for another X-ray on the finger — after the initial imaging showed the break in his finger — in about a week. If the results are encouraging, he said, as quoted by USA Today CelticsWire, “I can start doing some stuff and just getting back to being comfortable and building strength in the hand.”
But according to a discovery by longtime Celtics insider John Karalis, host of the Locked on Celtics podcast and chief writer for the SI.com Celtics on SI site, the 2011 first-round draft pick out of USC appears to have told a referee in that game a different story.
“If you look at this video from the game broadcast, you can see him talking to longtime official Ed Malloy, who came over to the Celtics bench to check on him,” Karalis wrote in a Saturday report for Celtics on SI. “You can see Vučević grimace, look at his finger, and apparently say ‘two more weeks.'”
Karalis posted the clip of Vučević seemingly saying “two more weeks” to Malloy on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
What Would a 2-Week Timeline Mean For Vučević and the Celtics?
With the Celtics playing their final regular season game on April 12, and a two-week timeline meaning that Vučević would return as early as April 5, the Celtics would have at least four possibly five full games to re-integrate the 35-year-old center back into their lineup.
“An extra week would be ideal because it would give Vučević time to build some chemistry with Jayson Tatum,” Karalis wrote, noting that outside one single, partial game, Vučević has yet to play a Celtics game with Tatum on the floor. “Timing needs to be honed, and that only comes with repetition.”
The Celtics now, heading into Sunday’s game at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves, sit in second place in the NBA Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games ahead of the third-place New York Knicks, and four games behind the pace-setting Detroit Pistons. Barring an unexpected collapse, the Celtics — who hold the fourth-best record in the NBA at 47-23 — seem assured of qualifying for the playoffs as no lower than the No. 3 seed.
With an lung injury to Cade Cunningham keeping the Pistons star sidelined indefinitely, getting Vučević back with as much time as possible to integrate into a lineup with Tatum could give the Celtics a significant advantage, and arguably make them the favorites to win the East and advance to the NBA Finals for what would be the third time in five years.