The Boston Celtics could be among the best teams in the NBA this season if they have health on their side. But there is a good chance that at least some of their key players will miss some time given the history of each in that regard in the recent past. Older veterans (and new additions to the team) like Mike Conley Jr. and Paul George may still be able to play at a high level when healthy, but have missed a fair amount of time in recent years.
And younger players who have dealt with injury such as Mitchell Robinson and even Jayson Tatum are also potential candidates to miss some time. And Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla has no illusions about how realistic it is for such players to be available for all 82 games of the 2026-27 NBA regular season,
either. "I think regardless of who it is, the standard and the expectation of playing all 82 isn't realistic," said Mazzulla via CLNS Media. "And so I don't know that anyone in our roster, I think one or two guys have played 82."
"I think Derrick (White) or Payton (Pritchard) have maybe missed a game or two there," said the Celtics coach. "So I don't know ... 82 is not the standard or the expectation."
"I think it's ... making sure we get the best out of them for an entire year, however long that year lasts," he said. "That's for everybody. It's not like we come in and tell guys they have to play 82 games or make that the standard. One thing here, since I've been here, we've always trusted the competitive character of if guys can play, they're going to play."
"And even if they feel like they can't, they're still going to try as best they can to play. As long as we keep that standard of we do everything I can to put myself out there every single night, that to me is more important than anything else."
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: To Joe Mazzulla, effort – not availability – key to Boston Celtics success
