Nikola Vucevic Is Back and the Celtics Have Five Games to Get Him Right Before Playoffs

The Boston Celtics are down to the final week of the regular season, and they have one huge problem to solve: Nikola Vucevic needs to fit into the rotation, and fast. The big man returned Sunday against Toronto after missing four full weeks with a broken finger, and now the Celtics need to find out if he can be ready when the playoffs start. Tuesday's matchup against Charlotte is just the beginning of a crash course in playoff preparation.

Vucevic Is Shaking Off the Rust, One Game at a Time

Vucevic logged 13 minutes in Boston's 115-101 win over Toronto on Sunday, collecting four points and four rebounds but also racking up four fouls. It wasn't pretty, but coach Joe Mazzulla saw enough. "He was good. It was only 13 minutes," Mazzulla said. "I thought offensively he made the right reads, missed a couple. Second half, we kind of went to different matchup stuff, so we didn't get him in as much as we wanted to in the second half. But he was fine, I thought. He's just going to continue to get acclimated."

The injury happened on March 6 against Dallas, the same night Jayson Tatum made his own comeback from an Achilles injury. Now both stars are working to rediscover their timing together. Vucevic knows the challenge: chemistry doesn't magically return. "That just has to come from us playing and practicing together, which is good I get at least these five games in before the playoffs then we'll have that week between that will help," he said.

The Hornets Are Surging and Boston Cannot Afford to Slip

The Celtics are 53-25 and riding a three-game winning streak heading into Tuesday. Charlotte is a completely different team than earlier in the season. The Hornets are 43-36 and have won four straight, including a 114-99 loss to Boston on March 29. Even more impressive, Charlotte is 9-2 in their last 11 games and fighting to avoid the play-in tournament by finishing sixth or higher in the Eastern Conference.

The Hornets haven't been to the postseason since 2015-16, when they lost to Miami in the first round. They are hungry, and they have already beaten Boston once this season, 118-89, when the teams met in Boston on March 4. "We came into their place and beat them," Miles Bridges said. "Then they came into our place and beat us, so we want to return the favor and start getting ready for the playoffs."

For Vucevic and the Celtics, these final games matter. You cannot afford to overlook a surging Hornets team that smells playoff basketball for the first time in over a decade.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.