Celtics’ Game 2 injury report vs. Pacers features upgrade, but it’s not Kristaps Porzingis

On Thursday evening, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics will look to go up 2-0 in their Eastern Conference Finals series vs the Indiana Pacers after winning a thrilling Game 1 on Tuesday. Tatum was overall solid throughout that game, scoring 36 points, and although he didn’t have a good close to regulation, the Celtics star stepped up in overtime by outscoring the Pacers by himself in that frame and leading his team to victory.

Since Game 4 of their first round series vs the Miami Heat, the Celtics’ frontcourt depth has been tested due to the absence of big man Kristaps Porzingis with a calf injury, and on Tuesday, that depth was tested even further with the absence of backup center Xavier Tillman, who missed the contest due to personal reasons.

However, it appears that he will be back in the lineup for Thursday’s tilt.

“Xavier Tillman, who was previously listed as questionable for personal reasons, is available tonight,” reported Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter, before later adding that Tillman was at shootaround for the Celtics later in the day.

How long can the Celtics survive without Porzinigs?

Thus far in the Eastern Conference side of the bracket, the Celtics have not been very thoroughly tested even since Porzingis went down with the injury. On Tuesday, Al Horford played a ton of minutes and had a horrible game, but it didn’t matter due to the Celtics’ overall massive talent advantage over the Pacers, and the fact that Indiana choked the game away in the closing seconds of regulation.

However, in the NBA Finals, it’s safe to assume that the Celtics will probably need their starting center healthy and back in the lineup in order to compete against either the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Dallas Mavericks, both of whom are several levels above anyone the Celtics would have faced during their cakewalk to that stage.

In any case, Game 2 is set to get underway shortly after 8:00 PM ET on Thursday evening, once again in the friendly confines of the TD Garden. The game will be carried by ESPN.