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The Latest on the Celtics’ Star’s Status for the Christmas Game Against the Lakers

The Celtics hope to conclude their West Coast trip above.500 in a Christmas battle featuring one of sports’ most iconic rivalries.

The Boston Celtics advanced to 2-1 on their West Coast tour with a 145-108 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

They’ll now hope to end their four-game trip to California with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas.

It helps that they expect Jayson Tatum to be in the lineup for this rivalry game. The Celtics’ injury list does not include the four-time All-Star ahead of their Christmas game versus the purple and gold.

He despises missing games. Sitting out this game, in the building where his childhood idol, Kobe Bryant, starred, on the NBA’s premier date, would’ve resulted in a more serious damage than a sprained ankle.

Tatum, who received the injury in Tuesday’s 132-126 loss to the Golden State Warriors, sat out the next night’s 144-119 victory against the Sacramento Kings.

And in the second quarter on Saturday, after drilling a side-step three from the left wing, he landed on Kobe Brown’s foot, again rolling his left ankle. Brown got whistled for a flagrant-1 for being in Tatum’s landing space.

After the game, the former Duke Blue Devil shared his immediate reaction as he was lying on the court trying to loosen up his ankle after another instance where he came down on the foot of an opposing player.

Kristaps Porzingis, who missed Saturday’s win after spraining his left ankle during the victory vs. the Kings, is questionable for Monday’s matchup.

So are Svi Mykhailiuk, who’s dealing with a left heel contusion, and Lamar Stevens, who has a non-Covid illness.

Luke Kornet, who has missed six straight games because of a left adductor strain, is probable.

Monday’s rivalry clash will tip off at 5:00 p.m. EST. Inside The Celtics will have content related to the game before, during, and afterward. Follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.

Further Reading

Joe Mazzulla Discusses Identity, Evolution of Celtics’ Offense: ‘Balance of Pace and Execution’

The Celtics are embracing an offensive identity fueling individual and collective growth while showing how much

room there is for ascension.

Wednesday night in the California state capital, the Boston Celtics steamrolled the Sacramento Kings, 144-119. They had five players register at least 20 points.

Saturday, they improved to 2-1 on their four-game West Coast trip, cruising past the Los Angeles Clippers, 145-108.

Jayson Tatum paced all participants with 30 points, Jaylen Brown scored 24, and Jrue Holiday put 20 on the board, combining for 74.

The latter’s registered at least 20 in back-to-back contests after not doing so once before these last two tilts.

The visitors, who led by as much as 39 on Saturday, had six players score over ten points.

Consistently contesting shots, limiting the hosts to 11/34 (32.4 percent) shooting from beyond the arc, operating up-tempo, and repeatedly driving and kicking to create quality, in-rhythm attempts combined to contribute to Boston assisting on 33/49 field goals and making 25 threes on 47.2 percent efficiency while hoisting 53 long-range looks.

Parlaying 15 offensive rebounds into a 23-8 advantage in second-chance points and only turning the ball over twice after halftime also helped fuel this dominant victory.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla refused to call this a “statement win” but praised the Celtics for their offensive approach.

“I do not consider it a statement win; I consider it a win,” Boston’s head coach remarked.”I see it as an opportunity to figure out where we played well and where we didn’t play well.” We left a lot on the table in terms of execution and the goals we want to achieve, so I don’t consider it a statement victory.”

Despite both games concluding in regulation and starters resting for the most of the final frame, the Celtics have scored 289 points in their last two games.

When asked if this is his team’s best offensive performance in the last week or so, the second-year head coach said yes.

“I believe so. It’s not because of the points, I believe. I believe it is due to the execution. I enjoy how we’re establishing a fast-paced brand rather than flipping it over. I believe that in the past, we played fast but gave the ball over, so we’re finding a good balance of pace and execution, which I believe is vital.

“But it’s not for lack of points.” I simply appreciated our execution. We are recognizing coverages more quickly. It sometimes takes a break to recognize it. So, we’re recognizing coverage faster, and we’re modifying our screening recognition based on that, and I believe it’s a significant importance for us.”

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The Latest on the Celtics’ Star’s Status for the Christmas Game Against the Lakers

The Latest on the Celtics’ Star’s Status for the Christmas Game Against the Lakers

Joe Mazzulla Discusses Identity, Evolution of Celtics’ Offense: ‘Balance of Pace and Execution’

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