Celtics
“He did what he tried to do to attempt to play, he simply wasn’t capable of.”
Jayson Tatum’s availability was a game-time choice on Monday evening.
The Celtics ahead wasn’t feeling properly, however tried to energy by and play, coach Joe Mazzulla stated.
However, finally, Tatum was dominated out with a non-COVID sickness and the Celtics misplaced the sport in opposition to the Orlando Magic with out him.
“Proper earlier than we got here out for tipoff,” Mazzulla stated. “He did what he tried to do to attempt to play, he simply wasn’t capable of.”
Dropping with out Tatum was not an excuse, Mazzulla stated. The Celtics led by 14 on the half and coughed up the lead.
Orlando was additionally severely undermanned. They performed with out All-Star ahead Paolo Banchero. Middle Mo Wagner, who was within the operating for the Sixth Man of the 12 months award, was lately dominated out for the season with a torn ACL, and his brother Franz Wagner was additionally out with a torn indirect.
“We had sufficient. Clearly you wish to have certainly one of your greatest gamers,” Mazzulla stated of Tatum’s absence. “You wish to have him, but it surely’s probably not a problem. We did what we needed to do. We bought off to begin. We simply had a troublesome third quarter.”
The Magic erased Boston’s lead within the third quarter, outscoring the Celtics 36-21. They hit well timed threes down the stretch whereas Boston went chilly from past the arc.
Jaylen Brown carried the majority of the scoring load with a game-high 35 factors. He took a extra deliberate method in the direction of attacking on offense with Tatum out.
“It simply allowed me to be extra aggressive and comfy,” Brown stated. “I’d have preferred to get to the foul line much more, utilizing my physicality and aggression however tonight on the highway it simply wasn’t the case. I’m adjusting to that, simply being extra bodily.”
“Clearly JT is a giant a part of our offense, however I believed we bought off to a fantastic begin within the first half,” he added. “The ball was transferring, we performed properly. Within the second half, we simply didn’t meet the extent of physicality that we would have liked to in sure spots, so we’ve bought to be higher in that regard.”
Mazzulla stated the Magic stars absences didn’t change a lot for him when it comes to game-planning.
“That’s form of the group that they’ve had for the previous few video games,” Mazzulla stated. “They’ve a system, they’ve a DNA about their bodily protection and the best way they play. So, no matter who’s in, who’s out, you recognize what you’re getting from that group.”
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