Celtics HC Joe Mazzulla Reveals Details About Jayson Tatum's Surprise Illness

Ricardo Klein | 19 Hours Ago

Feb 11, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla and forward Jayson Tatum (0) during a timeout the second half at Kaseya Center against the Miami Heat. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics suffered a tough loss on Monday when the young, upstart Orlando Magic defeated them 108-104. The Celtics, who are arguably the deepest team in the league, were without their star player and MVP candidate, Jayson Tatum. 

Tatum, who was questionable to play due to a non-Covid illness, was eventually ruled out for the rest of the game as he played zero minutes. This came quite as a shock as it was expected that Tatum would be fine enough to play. 

Nonetheless, he was expected to come off the beach but did not end up giving it a go. After the game, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla provided an update on Tatum and detailed what went wrong with him. 

“Right before we came out for the tip off,” Mazzulla said via Brian Robb of MassLive. “He did what he tried to do to do to try to play, just wasn’t able to.”

Based on Mazzulla's update, Tatum's illness won't affect him for too long. Considering that he tried to play against Orlando, Tatum should be fine enough to play on Christmas Day against the Philadelphia 76ers.

When asked if Tatum's absence contributed to the Celtics' shortcomings, Mazzulla said, 'No.' 

“None,” Mazzulla said when asked about the impact of Tatum not playing.

“We have enough. I mean, obviously, you want to have one of your best players. You want to have him, but it’s not really a challenge. We did what we had to do, we got off to a good start. We just had a tough third quarter,” he continued.

Tatum instead stood on the bench and cheered for his teammates after being removed from the injury report. 

Boston was up big at halftime, 58-43, but the Magic dominated the third quarter to tie the game by the end of that period and push ahead by 10 in the fourth. Orlando was outplayed in the first half for a second straight game while playing without Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Mo Wagner, but it still found a way to win. 

As for Boston, they went cold in the second half in their final road game of 2024. The Celtics will look to have their superstar forward back on the court on Wednesday to earn their 23rd win of the season. 

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