The Brooklyn Nets could catch a break on Tuesday night. Jayson Tatum left the Boston Celtics’ blowout win over the Chicago Bulls with 6:53 left, and it is unclear whether he will play on the second night of a back-to-back.
Tatum Leaves Early, Mazzulla Stays Vague
Tatum has been the engine for Boston early on, averaging a team-high 24 points through three games. He missed most of the 2025-26 season with a ruptured Achilles, so how the Celtics manage his workload is a fair question.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla did not say whether Tatum would play against Brooklyn.
“I think it’s twofold,” Mazzulla said, per Field Level Media. “We trust the sports science team that we have. We trust the competition of those guys. At the same time, I think our locker room has been built on one through 15, 16 or 17 being able to impact winning. So it’s just a combination of all those things.”
He added that the Celtics will “do what gives us the best chance to win, and at the same time keep those guys healthy and validate the whole locker room by putting guys in situations where they’ve got to win games for us.”
Boston Celtics Come In Rolling
Boston has won two straight since opening the season with a 121-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons. The Celtics have also beaten the Nets in 11 of their last 12 meetings.
The latest win was a dominant one. The Celtics beat the Bulls 134-99 on Monday behind Payton Pritchard, who scored 28 points and made seven of his 10 three-point attempts. He scored 19 points in the third quarter alone, hitting all five of his threes in the period.
Boston outscored Chicago 39-21 in that quarter and carried a 105-75 lead into the fourth. Tatum finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and the Celtics’ bench scored 79 points.
Boston made 21 three-pointers as a team and won the rebounding battle 54-40, though they also committed 25 turnovers.
Nets Are Still Searching for Defense
Brooklyn is winless, and its defense has been the biggest problem. The Nets are allowing 123.7 points per game, and opponents are shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from three-point range.
What’s Next for the Boston Celtics
Tatum’s status should become clear before tip-off. Whether he plays or not, the Celtics have shown they can win with depth.
Celtics Get Jayson Tatum Update Ahead of Nets Game