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Tatum has missed two of the last four games, but the injury is not serious, according to Joe Mazzulla.

By Khari A. Thompson

December 12, 2024

2 minutes to read

Jayson Tatum missed Thursday’s game against the Pistons because of tendinopathy in his right knee. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said his injury was not serious. Tatum has missed two of the last four games, both against Detroit. They are the only games he has missed this season.

The Celtics have had four days off since their loss to Memphis on Saturday. Tatum played 38 minutes in that game. He was able to practice on Thursday and has another small practice planned for Friday, Mazzulla said.

“Tendinopathy, I don’t know much about it, but I think it’s something that just comes and goes. “It’s nothing serious,” Mazzulla said.

Durability has been a strength for Tatum over the years. He has appeared in 74 or more games in five of the last seven seasons. Piston trainer JB Bickerstaff said the Celtics’ unselfishness makes them difficult to prepare for, even in the rare event that Tatum is out.

“From an individual tendency standpoint, it changes some things that you do, but they play the same with or without him,” Bickerstaff said. “They move the ball. This is one of the more unselfish teams we’ve seen on a regular basis. They have immense talent all over the floor, the way they space the floor, form threes and things like that.”

“So it doesn’t change the way we try to protect them or what we try to do. Obviously it eliminates an extremely talented player from the lineup, but this team is good enough to find a way to beat you with the guys they have.”

The Celtics’ selflessness and willingness to do the little things starts with their stars, Bickerstaff said.

“They repeat what their stars do. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown“These guys could shoot the ball every time they wanted to,” Bickerstaff said. “But they keep sacrificing to make the right play. I think it sets the tone. They have built and established a great culture here that people should emulate more.”

A fine amount

The NBA fined Brown $25,000 for the gesture he made while celebrating a dunk in a win over Detroit earlier this month.

The league imposed a fine Dwyane Wadewho was playing with the Bulls at the time, the same amount in 2016 when he made a similar gesture during a win against the Celtics.

While some of the money the league takes in goes to charities, Brown said he would like players to have more control over which charities benefit.

“I would prefer it to be like that. It doesn’t always work that way,” Brown said. “According to the rules and the CBA it goes to charities, but not always to the charity of our choice. So behind the scenes we have a lot of great people fighting to make the players feel strong and things like that.

“But some of it is not as concrete as I would like. Often it goes to the NBA’s charities or whatever they support. But as players we should have a little more control over where our money goes.”