Jayson

Tatum

Tatum got off to a sizzling-hot start, shredding a lackluster Milwaukee squad for 16 first-quarter points. He was able to shift into cruise control as Boston built a 13-point halftime advantage. It wasn’t a particularly efficient shooting performance as he went just 1-of-8 from inside the arc, but knocked down 5-of-11 from long range. He wasn’t really needed in the second half as Boston’s extremely deep bench was able to take care of business against a struggling Milwaukee squad that lost Tyler Herro midway through the third quarter. The Celtics have a three-game week on tap featuring matchups against the 76ers, Raptors and Mavericks. All eyes will be on the highly-anticipated Tatum and Jaylen Brown matchup on Tuesday night.

Simply put, Tatum loves playing in North Carolina. The 28-year-old franchise cornerstone reached the 30-point plateau with a nifty reverse layup midway through the third quarter as Boston continued pulling away, eventually opening up a near 40-point lead by the end of the third quarter. He put the finishing touch on his monster evening by knocking down his 11th free throw of the night in the final minute of the quarter, finishing just shy of a triple-double in a monster statsheet-stuffing effort. The lopsided score allowed him to sit out the fourth, otherwise he may have been in line for an even bigger performance. He’s delivered top-30 fantasy value in the early stages of the season, recording four 30-point efforts in his first eight games. The Celtics close out the week with a road tilt against the Bucks on Sunday before kicking off a three-game week with road matchups against the 76ers and Raptors.

Tatum is back after sitting out Wednesday’s win over the Bucks, which pushes Sam Hauser to the bench. The other change is Walsh, who replaces Hugo González in the lineup.

Tatum played both legs of a Sunday-Monday back-to-back set and got Wednesday off for rest. He’ll be back in action after that maintenance night and should handle his usual workload.

Tatum will get the night off after playing on both Sunday and Monday. He hasn’t shot the ball particularly well, so a rest night could do him some good. Paul George will be back after missing Monday’s game, so the rest of the starting unit should remain the same, with George filling in for Tatum.

Tatum played both games of the Celtics’ recent back-to-back, logging 32 minutes in Monday’s loss to the Rockets. Paul George is off the injury report after not playing in Houston, so he can slide into Tatum’s spot if JT doesn’t play.

With Paul George out, the Rockets focused even more of their defensive attention on Tatum on Monday. While he finished one assist shy of a double-double, the Celtics star committed five turnovers and shot 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Tatum’s fantasy value has been elite through Boston’s first seven games, so managers don’t need to worry about his performance against the Rockets.

Tatum didn’t have his best day shooting the basketball, but his ability to get to the foul line paid off immensely. He made 15 of his 17 free-throw attempts, the second time in three games that the Celtics’ forward has scored at least 15 points on free throws. Add in the assists and blocks, and this was a solid end to the week for those rostering Tatum. Boston plays four games next week, starting with the Rockets on Monday.

Tatum has scored 23 points or more in each of his last four games, rebounding well after a quiet outing in Boston’s season opener. Against the Bulls, he scored 16 of his 26 points in the first half, shooting 7-of-11 from the field. Tatum cooled off after halftime, but it didn’t matter much as Boston had already built up a large lead. He’ll look to finish the week on a high when the Celtics face the Magic on Sunday.

The Celtics’ second game in as many nights was more dramatic than many expected, as they needed overtime and a Tatum pull-up at the buzzer to beat the Nets. He finished with an excellent stat line, shooting 50 percent from the field and committing no turnovers. Counting the postseason, this was Tatum’s first 40-point game since Game 4 of the Celtics’ 2025 second-round series against the Knicks (the game in which he was injured).