Celtics frontcourt depth takes hit with Friday night injury
Boston Celtics forward Nikola Vucevic will undergo surgery after injuring his finger on Friday night against the Mavericks.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 22: Nikola Vucevic #4 of the Boston Celtics makes a pass during the first half of their game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on February 22, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.
Luiza Moraes/Getty ImagesBOSTON - The Boston Celtics' are looking at their biggest trade deadline frontcourt addition missing some games. Center Nikola Vucevic suffered a fractured right finger in the first quarter of Friday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Vucevic suffered the injury late in the first quarter, and was quickly ruled out for the night. In total he played nine minutes, and didn't record any stats.
It appears the injury was significant enough for the Celtics to make a quick determination of their next course of action. An update came early in the third quarter, with ESPN's Shams Charania reporting that Vucevic "is expected to undergo a procedure on Saturday for his fractured ring finger and miss approximately one month." That timeline would put him back just before the playoffs, with the C's final regular season game coming on April 12.
Boston acquired Vucevic and a second-round pick ahead of the trade deadline for guard Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick. Prior to Friday night Vucevic had appeared in 11 games for the Celtics with one start. In 23.5 minutes per game he was averaging 11.4 points and 7.8 rebounds.
With Vucevic off the floor for the majority of the game, Luka Garza saw himself in a bigger role than he's had the past few games after his playing time diminished following the trade deadline. In 18 minutes Garza had 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including hitting back-to-back threes early in the game to kill a Mavericks run.
