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Celtics center Nikola Vucevic will miss his 7th straight game when the Celtics face the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. But Jayson Tatum and the rest of the Celtics will be available, as the team otherwise fields a clean injury report. Tatum has only missed one game since returning to the lineup almost two weeks ago.
Vucevic fractured his right ring finger on March 6th, and the Celtics announced the next day that he would be re-evaluated in three to four weeks. That means we’ll likely get a Vucevic update between March 27th and April 3rd — and the big man could be cleared to return to the floor with a few regular seasons remaining (the regular season concludes on April 12th).
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, have been very injury-riddled and are one of the Western Conference’s worst teams. Several key players have been shut down for the season: Kentavius Caldwell-Pope (right pinky finger), Zach Edey (left ankle), Scotty Pippen Jr. (right big toe), and Santi Aldama (right knee). And, Brandon Clarke (right calf strain), Jahmai (left ankle sprain), and Ja Morant (left elbow UCL sprain) are out.
In addition, Taj Gibson (right foot soreness) and GG Jackson (left knee soreness) are doubtful to play.
How the Celtics, Grizzlies stack up
The Celtics are riding a three-game win streak and enter Friday’s game with a 46-23 record. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, have dropped 8 of their last 10 games and currently have the West’s 11th-best record at 24-44.
Last time the two teams faced off was in November, and the Celtics came away with a 131-95 win.
With so many key absences, the Grizzlies have been led by rookie Cedric Coward, who is averaging 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
The Celtics, meanwhile, continue to be led by Jaylen Brown, who is having a career season. Brown is averaging 28.5 points per game on the season, alongside 7 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and a steal.
Tatum, who returned to the lineup on March 6th, has been the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 20.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game.
The Celtics and Grizzlies will face off on Friday night at 8pm in Memphis’ FedEx Forum.
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