After he played a season-high 45 minutes in Saturday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Celtics gave Jayson Tatum a night off.
Tatum was one of three Boston regulars ruled out for Monday night’s matchup with the rebuilding Utah Jazz at TD Garden. He officially was listed as “right knee tendinopathy” on the Celtics’ injury report.
Big men Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Al Horford (left big toe sprain) also sat against Utah.
With just over a month remaining in the regular season and Boston all but locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, head coach Joe Mazzulla is looking to strike a balance between winning games and ensuring his roster is as healthy as possible for the playoffs. That means occasional rest nights for Tatum, who entered Monday ranked fourth in the NBA in total minutes played.
“I think it’s just a matter of trust in them, trust in the sports science team, having an understanding of how you want to go about it,” Mazzulla said in his pregame news conference. “At the same time, make sure we do what’s best to win and what’s best for them as players. That’s kind of when you rely on the entire camp — the people around you, the players, the training staff. What gives us the best chance to win, and what gives us the best chance to be at our best, as well?”
Porzingis, who was listed as doubtful for Monday before being downgraded to out, has now missed six straight games and seven of the last eight. Mazzulla said the starting center was “getting close” to returning from his illness but did not offer an exact timeline.
“I think just at the end of the day, it gives us the flexibility of our roster,” Mazzulla said. “We played with a bunch of different lineups, and I think it’s shown a lot of the different things we can go to — a different identity that we can create. So obviously, we want to have him and can’t wait to have him back, but at the same time, we can go to different things we may need depending on kind of the unknown, not just in the regular season, but in the playoffs.”
The Jazz, who are doing all they can to secure the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, ruled out Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, Keyonte George and Taylor Hendricks against Boston. Ex-Celtic Jaden Springer was upgraded to available after being listed as questionable with lower back soreness.
Originally Published: March 10, 2025 at 6:48 PM EDT