Celtics star Jayson Tatum was on the sideline at Gillette Stadium before the international friendly between World Cup super powers France and Brazil on Thursday.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum was on the sideline at Gillette Stadium before the international friendly between World Cup super powers France and Brazil on Thursday.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
The Celtics attended France’s 2-1 win over Brazil in a pre-World Cup international friendly at Gillette Stadium on Thursday.
“[The game] was great,” said Celtics rookie Hugo Gonzalez. “Two powerhouses for the World Cup in the United States this summer, so, it was amazing.”
Gonzalez said that Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was “die-hard for Brazil” during the game. Mazzulla has expressed the value in seeing elite athletes in different sports compete and noted similarities between soccer and basketball.
“I think the big one, the first goal of the game it was a counter-attack on a turnover in the middle of the field,” Mazzulla said. “So, it’s the same. Can’t turn the ball over. You’ve got to value possessions and get more shots than the other team, and I guess Brazil did get more shots. But, the counter-attack, possession at midfield, kind of similar.”
Mazzulla said he did not necessarily bring the Celtics to Foxboro to extract lessons, however.
“That was mostly us doing something together,” he said. “Guys take different things, have different experiences from it, but that was us just as a team doing something together and being a part of that. It was a good time.”
Gonzalez, who is from Spain, said he was thrilled to meet French superstar Kylian Mbappé, who scored a goal Thursday.
“I met him in the morning and he scored in the evening,” Gonzalez said, “so maybe I gave him a little bit of luck, even though he didn’t need it.”
Brown sits out
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown missed Friday’s game against the Hawks because of left Achilles tendinitis. Brown had originally been listed as questionable because of left calf tightness.
Mazzulla said Brown was “a little banged up” after Boston’s 119-109 win over the Thunder on Wednesday at TD Garden.
“He’s day-to-day,” Mazzulla said. “He was in getting treatment, so he’s day-to-day.”
Center Neemias Queta (thumb) and guard Derrick White (knee) were cleared to face Atlanta after being listed as questionable. Center Nikola Vucevic remains sidelined with a broken finger.
Managing the load
The Celtics entered Friday’s game in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, with a one-game lead over the Knicks with 10 games remaining in the regular season.
Mazzulla was asked how he intends to balance managing workloads for players dealing with nagging injuries with the quest to secure a top seed.
“We’re just always going to do what gives us the best chance to win every single night,” he said. “I think that’s just how we have to do it regardless.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.