The Boston Celtics will remain cautious. After resting Paul George ahead of their matchup against Houston, they are doing the same with Jayson Tatum ahead of their matchup against Milwaukee. A bummer, of course, but with all the injuries already this season, the Celtics would clearly rather be safe than sorry.
Tatum has looked awesome to start this season. Him looking like his normal self again is a great sign both now and when the postseason comes around. That's why it's normal for Boston to be cautious, particularly in matchups where they think they can probably survive without him. Milwaukee is 1-6, which is probably where everyone expected them to be post-Giannis.
Besides, nights like tonight are good tests for their younger wings. They did their job while Tatum was out for most of last season, to the point that the team was in a fantastic place by the time he returned. None of their young wings have stood out too much this season, so this is a good chance for them to show out without Tatum.
Luckily, they will have a safety net with George's return to the hardwood. They'll be tasked with not necessarily replacing Tatum's impact as a whole, but just being good enough to beat the Bucks. It won't be the toughest challenge possible, but still a legitimate one.
Boston will see who should be playing more
With bigger roles, even if it will only be temporary, the Celtics will get to see who deserves a bigger role. They took on a similar challenge against Houston without George, but let's be fair. Playing without Tatum will definitely be more telling, especially against a team they could realistically beat without him: the Bucks.
The young wings as a whole haven't looked terrible, but haven't made themselves stand out quite yet. Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, and Baylor Scheierman have all had their moments, but haven't truly broken out yet. This could help them build their confidence going forward.
Again, they faced this challenge last year for about 80% of the season, so this shouldn't be too much of a problem because they are familiar with playing basketball without Tatum. But this could be a good opportunity for them to show that they should be playing more in the rotation.
Boston wants the best results possible, and one of the best ways in which they can see who should be playing is seeing who fares best when the team is undermanned. With Tatum out, tonight could showcase a lot.
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