Boston Celtics
Four gamers, together with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, are listed as questionable.
Coming off a 109-102 victory towards the Atlanta Hawks Friday with out Jaylen Brown, the Celtics might be with out Brown once more after which some of their subsequent game.
Four gamers have been listed as questionable and one is out on Boston’s Saturday harm report ahead of their Sunday street contest towards the Charlotte Hornets.
Brown, Jayson Tatum (proper Achilles restore administration), Neemias Queta (proper thumb sprain), and Derrick White (proper knee contusion) are 50/50 photographs to swimsuit up. Nikola Vucevic (proper ring finger fracture) stays out.
Queta and White all performed common minutes Friday regardless of showing on that harm report, as nicely.
Tatum notably recorded his most minutes on the court docket since making his return earlier this month (36) in addition to his most factors (26). He has sat out just one game (March 12 at Oklahoma City) since making his season debut as half of his harm administration plan.
Tatum has performed not less than half-hour in every of the Celtics’ seven contests since that off-day – protected to say he may in all probability use some relaxation.
Following Friday’s win, Tatum spoke about some of the difficulties he’s skilled on the parquet over the past three weeks. Shooting has been a wrestle for the star, one thing he known as “frustrating”.
“It’s all over the place. Sometimes I’ll be dribbling the [expletive] ball and I like mishandle,” Tatum stated. “Sometimes I still have the ball but it’s just, like, damn. It’s frustrating. Obviously some of the shots and layups at the rim, just kind of moving too fast a little bit. So it’s frustrating to me.”
While Tatum could also be pissed off by his particular person play, the fact is that Boston has received eight of the ten video games he’s performed in. His affect as a prime participant within the NBA continues to be there regardless of not performing to his requirements. Head coach Joe Mazzulla spoke about that affect postgame Friday, figuring out rebounding as one key.
“I mean, I thought I saw his defensive rebounding,” Mazzulla stated of Tatum (via Bobby Krivitsky). Tatum logged 12 rebounds. “I thought that was the most important thing. I thought offensively, he got into the paint, was able to get to the free throw line, shot ten free throws, just continuing to chip away at giving the game what it needs. He was aggressive in his drive, missed some easy layups there, but as long as he stays aggressive, as long as he makes the right read, as long as he continues to rebound, he’s continuing to get better and better.”
As for Brown, Mazzulla didn’t supply a lot perception into the participant’s Achilles tendinitis Friday. The coach labeled Brown as “day-to-day” and didn’t say when he anticipated him to play subsequent. It might be an excellent signal that he wasn’t instantly dominated out of Sunday’s game.
It’s additionally laborious to think about Mazzulla would downplay an Achilles harm to any participant if the group knew it to be extreme after Tatum’s personal Achilles tear final yr.
Brown initially appeared on Thursday’s harm report with calf tightness, however his ailment was modified to an Achilles harm Friday.
The Celtics will submit one other harm report on game day and solidify the gamers’ statuses for his or her ninth-to-last common season game of the 2025-26 marketing campaign.
Tipoff between Boston and Charlotte is ready for six p.m. Eastern Time Sunday.
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