BRIGHTON — The Boston Celtics have been hit by a case of the injury bug. Well, comparing this season to last season, they’ve been dealing with that diagnosis all year. From Kristaps Porzingis extended absence in the early months to Sam Hauser’s chronic back issues, this iteration of the Celtics has dealt with significantly more bumps and bruises. Jrue Holiday and Porzingis’ new ailments are just the latest.
Porzingis has missed two games in a row due to an illness, and Holiday’s injury is far more severe. He has been diagnosed with right hand mallet finger. According to Cleveland Clinic, it is “an injury to the tip of your finger that causes it to droop downward.” The tendon becomes damaged or torn, causing the issue, and the noted recovery time is roughly eight weeks.
Holiday recently said that he doesn’t plan on getting surgery to fix the issue, and is instead simply managing the pain. “He's treating the pain but offered no timetable for his return,” Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe wrote in a tweet. “He basically said the finger is broken.”
New Celtics injury updates on Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday
After Celtics practice on Tuesday, Joe Mazzulla provided some new updates on how each of the players were doing (though there was fairly little actual information given). (H/t Noa Dalzell of SB Nation)
On Porzingis: “Yeah, he went through a walk-through. Went through a film session. So, he’s good.”
On Holiday: “Yeah, he went through practice and shot. He was able to go through everything.”
Joe Mazzulla tells @BrianTRobb that Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis both went through practice today. Jrue went through his regular shooting pic.twitter.com/O1qCDSTqbh
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) March 4, 2025
Mazzulla has made it a point to only provide small updates on players’ injury statuses as to not give out any advantageous positions to opposing head coaches who are creating their game plans.
Just look at when Porzingis returned to the floor in late November—when the news broke, it came as a surprise to everyone. That’s the goal Mazzulla is always striving for. Any small advantage he can get, he’s going to take.
Regardless, hearing that Holiday and Porzingis were able to practice should give a solid indication of where they are in their respective recoveries.
Considering Porzingis is only dealing with an illness, there shouldn’t be much long-term concern.
In the case of Holiday’s injury, there’s a possibility that he could be out for a while. However, based on Holiday’s comments the other day and Mazzulla’s update that he went through practice, it seems as though he and the Celtics are going to power through the issue.