The Boston Celtics may get a key piece back in their lineup shortly before the NBA playoffs begin.<\/p>\n
Center Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107 was upgraded to questionable for Sunday\u2019s matchup with the Toronto Raptors on the Celtics\u2019 injury report. He has missed Boston\u2019s past 14 games with a fractured ring finger<\/a> that required surgery to stabilize.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Vu\u010devi\u0107, 35, was acquired at the NBA trade deadline from the Chicago Bulls<\/a> in exchange for Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick. (Boston also received a second-rounder in the deal.) He appeared in 12 games before getting injured, averaging 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 35% on 37 3-point attempts.<\/p>\n Overall this season, Vu\u010devi\u0107 is scoring 15.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, and shooting 37% on 3s.<\/p>\n Without Vu\u010devi\u0107, the Celtics have gone 10-4 and maintained their hold on the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference<\/a>, four games behind the Detroit Pistons and 2.5 games ahead of the New York Knicks.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n However, Vu\u010devi\u0107\u2019s absence also coincided with the return of Jayson Tatum<\/a> from a ruptured Achilles suffered in last season\u2019s playoffs<\/a>. In 13 games, he\u2019s averaged 21.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists with 33% shooting from long range.<\/p>\n