On Wednesday morning, the Celtics announced that Jayson Tatum will miss his first game of the season at home against the Milwaukee Bucks for rest. Obviously, if you’re a fan attending the game, you’d love to see JT in action, but other than that, this seems like an ideal situation for Tatum and the Celtics.
He has already answered any questions about his durability coming back from the torn Achilles, as he has played in both of the team’s back-to-backs to start the season. I don’t think there was ever any real doubt or concern about that, but if there was, he has answered them resoundingly.
So far, he has played in all seven of the team’s games and been on the court for over 35 minutes a night. It certainly doesn’t seem like there are any issues with his body, his stamina, or anything like that.
Celtics face brutal November schedule
At the same time, Tatum was never going to play in all 82 games this year, nor should he. He’s getting into his late 20s and should have his body and minutes managed, regardless of his health, with the main goal being to maximize freshness when the playoffs roll around.
The Celtics’ schedule is absolutely brutal in the month of November. They play 16 games, with 12 of them coming on the road, including a West Coast trip to Denver, Sacramento, and Golden State, and another one to Texas for games in San Antonio and Dallas. Not only that, but they also play five back-to-backs in November, with the first one already in the rearview on Sunday and Monday in Orlando and Houston.
This month is a gauntlet, and Boston just needs to survive. I don’t care what player we’re talking about; anyone shouldering the kind of workload that Tatum is should get some time off, so making sure he’s not out there every night is just smart, responsible stuff from the organization.
Celtics should be able to beat Bucks without Tatum
Beyond that, this is a great strategic opportunity, as the Bucks have one of the worst rosters in the NBA after blowing up their team in recent years and trading Giannis Antetokounmpo in the offseason. If there was ever a game the Celtics should be able to win without Tatum, this is it.
Plus, it’s a great opportunity for other players to get going, to get some more reps, and to get a bigger role with Tatum out of the lineup. It would be great to see Payton Pritchard get hot, for the bigs to kick things into gear, and for all of the bench wings to build some kind of rhythm.
And finally, it’s a rare chance to get Tatum extended rest during the season. He played on Monday night and will now get to rest for three full days before gearing back up for an NBA Cup game on Friday night in Charlotte, when he should be extremely well rested and ready to go, with the Celtics hopefully coming off a big win over the Bucks in his absence.
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