To say the Boston Celtics have a difficult schedule in November might actually be an understatement. The C's began the month with a back-to-back and will participate in three more before December rolls around. There are also plenty of matchups with contending teams, so Boston is using a game against a struggling squad — the 1-6 Milwaukee Bucks — as an opportunity to rest star forward Jayson Tatum.
The 2024 NBA champion was listed as questionable due to rest on Tuesday, however, he has since been downgraded to out ahead of the Celtics' home showdown with the Bucks on Wednesday night. Milwaukee is on a three-game losing streak and is near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, making Boston's decision to rest its go-to guy a lot easier.
Although
Tatum would prefer to play every night, the Celtics need him for the long run. He's averaged a team-high 27 points per outing through seven games and has performed like somebody five years removed from an Achilles rupture despite the fact that his devastating injury occurred less than two years ago.
Thanks to Tatum's strong start to the season, the C's are 5-2 and in third place in the East. Their only two losses were courtesy of the 6-1 Detroit Pistons and the 7-1 Houston Rockets, who they fell to on the second night of a back-to-back.
In preparation for the Celtics' brutal November, which (counting the Bucks) includes five games in the next seven days, resting Tatum is reasonable. Whether or not Boston can pull out a win on Wednesday evening without its top player remains to be seen, but it's worth noting that point guard Payton Pritchard is questionable with a right knee contusion and that guard Devin Carter is still out sick with mononucleosis.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Boston Celtics to rest Jayson Tatum vs. Milwaukee Bucks
