The Boston Celtics are one of the best teams in the league when their starting lineup is healthy. That's part of the reason why they were able to win the championship last season.
Boston hasn't had a lot of games this season where the entire starting lineup has been on the court together. Mainly, it has been because Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday have missed games.
While they proved last year that they could win an NBA title without Porzingis in the lineup for most of the playoffs, that might not be the case this season.
Read more: Celtics Provide Major Update on Jayson Tatum’s Ankle Injury
Jayson Tatum is their best and most important player. As long as he is out there, the Celtics believe they can win every game that they play.
Unfortunately, he suffered a scary-looking ankle injury against the Kings. He did not return to the game after coming down on Domantas Sabonis' foot while taking a 3-point shot.
Ahead of their matchup with the Suns, Tatum is on the injury report because of that ankle injury. He is listed as doubtful because of the injury.
Injury Report for tomorrow at Phoenix:
Jayson Tatum (left ankle sprain) - DOUBTFUL
Xavier Tillman (left knee joint sprain) - OUT
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 25, 2025
While it's not ideal that Tatum likely won't play, it's good that the Celtics didn't immediately rule him out. That could signal that Tatum won't be out for an extended period of time.
Boston is trying to catch the Cavs for the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings, but they are still five games behind them for that spot. It might be tough for them to make up that ground.
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That chase for the top spot in the East is not as important as having Tatum healthy for the playoffs. Whatever the number of games Tatum needs to sit to get that ankle healthy, he needs to do it.
Tatum is still the best player on the team, so he is extremely important to the success of the team in the playoffs. Having that ankle healthy is worth the Celtics losing five games down the stretch of the season if that's what happens.
So far this season, Tatum is averaging 27.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, and six assists per game.
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