The Celtics gentlemen swept the Magic in a hard fought 5 games, the last 3 of which were without all defensive point guard Jrue Holiday. Holida was an instrumental part of the Celtics 2024 championship team, and they will need him at full strength if they are to make another run this year. Holidat sustained a hamstring injury in game 2, and Payton Pritchard stepped up big time defensively in his absence.
If Jrue plays in game 1 of round 2, he will have had 12 days of rest for his injury. Hamstring injuries are always tricky as in many cases they never truly go away, but with this amount of rest, the hope is that he will come back and at least be close to full strength. Joe Mazzulla talked to the media after game 5 and said Jrue is "day to day", so it is anyones guess when he will return.
@RealBobManning asked Joe Mazzulla about whether Jrue Holiday’s injury is a long-term concern:
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) April 29, 2025
“He’s day-to-day, just doing everything he can to come back, doing everything he can to put himself in position and be a little bit better the next day.” pic.twitter.com/QnK0e4uk2I
The Celtics will match up either against the Detroit Pistons, or the New York Knicks. The Celtics were 4-0 against the Knicks and 3-1 against the Pistons in the regular season, so if Jrue was to miss any time against either team, the belief is that they will be able to survive.
Tatum struggled mightily in game 1, and towards the end of the game, he sustained a wrist injury that kept him out of his first ever playoff game in game 2. Many were already speculating if this would hinder the Celtics title chances, but he had statistically his best 3 game playoff stretch of his career, against a top 2 defense in basketball. The wrist looked fine to me. In games 3-5 he 36/10/6 on 47/44/100 splits. The only other Celtic to score 35 or more in 3 straight playoff games? Some guy named Larry Bird.
Via @ NBC Sports Boston
Now Tatum will have 6 days of rest before round 2, one more day of rest between game 1 and game three when he missed time. While Tatum's three point shooting will likely die down, he did what fans have been begging for, drive to the hoop and/or drawing contact. JT took three more two pointers a game and 4 more free throws a game than he did in the regular season, against a great defense. If Tatum is fully healed from his wrist injury and has this mentality, the Celtics will be at their best, but time will tell if this comes true.