The Boston Celtics will look to bounce back on Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks after suffering a blowout 29-point loss at the hands of the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. While the C's would be favored to win anyway, it will certainly help them that they are getting superstar forward Jayson Tatum back in action as he makes his season debut.
Tatum has spent the last 10 months working his way back from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered in last year's playoffs. Considering the severity of the injury and how much time he's missed, the Celtics are widely expected to ease him back into the action. However, ahead of his season debut, head coach Joe Mazzulla revealed that Tatum will actually be part of the starting lineup for this game.
"Joe Mazzulla says Jayson Tatum starts for the Celtics tonight," NBA insider Marc Stein shared in a post on X.
This doesn't necessarily mean Tatum is going to play his typical load of minutes, but it is a bit of a surprising development. Regardless of whether he starts or comes off the bench, Tatum is going to be on some sort of minutes restriction, even if Mazzulla remained coy when asked about that.
Boston will spend the remainder of the season getting Tatum back into the swing of things, because if it can do that, it could result in a deep playoff run for the team. Tip-off for Tatum's season debut is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can bet that TD Garden is going to be rocking for this one.
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