BOSTON -- The Celtics kicked off their first of three practice sessions in the upcoming week on Wednesday, ahead of the team's playoff opener against the Pacers (likely Sunday afternoon). The team was at close to full strength for the hour-long session with Jayson Tatum makes his return to the floor after missing Tuesday's game against the Wizards to rest his shin contusion. The early returns on his recovery were positive from both the head coach and the player himself.
"Tatum went through all of practice, we didn’t do anything live but he looked good at what he could do," Brad Stevens said. "He’s in there getting treatment right now and every indication is he should be good to go in practice tomorrow. We’ll see -- it’ll be modified still but hopefully, he’ll be able to play when this weekend comes."
The 21-year-old forward has been one of the most durable pieces on the Celtics' roster for the past two seasons, missing just five combined games due to rest or injury since 2017. There was plenty of mystery surrounding his injury after he subbed himself out of the Magic game following six minutes of action on Sunday night, but Tatum did his best to clear up the origin of the ailment.
"I mean, it had a lot to do with just being sore," Tatum explained. "But I hit my knee against something, and I felt good the other day when I was warming up and working out, but it really started to bother me during the game. So I got it checked out. I feel way better today, I got a chance to practice today, so just feel better and better every day."
While the temptation will be for Tatum to get back on the floor immediately, he knows he needs to exercise caution now, particularly with plenty of additional days to recover ahead of a long postseason grind, even though it goes against his usual mentality.
"Not trying to rush anything. I usually play. I hate sitting out games. I try to play every game of the season, but it was really bothering me. I knew that if I took myself out the game, I was really in pain," Tatum explained.
The news is not as good on Marcus Smart. The starting guard is still sidelined with a bruised oblique but was not able to take part in activities on Wednesday.
"Marcus is still pretty sore," Stevens said. "We’ll see where that leads. I don’t have any update on timelines or anything like that."
Danny Ainge sounded more optimistic about the guard though in an appearance on Toucher and Rich Wednesday morning when it comes to his availability against the Pacers. He called him day-to-day and thought there would be a chance he practices tomorrow. If he can't go in Game 1, look for Gordon Hayward or Jaylen Brown to fill in at starting shooting guard next to Irving.
PICK WATCH
The final night of the regular season is upon us and there is still plenty of scenarios that will impact where the Celtics three (or four) picks will end up. A few possibilities for the moment.
- Memphis could finish anywhere from a tie for No. 6 to a tie for No. 8 in the lottery standings tonight, based upon their play against a resting Warriors squad. The higher the finish bodes well for the odds that the pick does not convey to Boston this year.
- Sacramento currently sits in the No. 14 lottery slot but that could slip to No. 12 if they lose to the Blazers and the Heat and Hornets win their season finales on Wednesday night.
- The Clippers pick could end up anywhere from No. 18 to No. 20, based on the results of the Clippers-Jazz and Thunder, Spurs and Pacers games tonight.
- The Celtics will finish in the No. 21 or No. 22 slot for their own pick depending on whether the Jazz defeats the Clippers.