Jayson Tatum is going back to Madison Square Garden on Thursday, and he said he is not excited about it. The Celtics forward plans to play against the Knicks in a game with playoff position at stake, nearly a year after he ruptured his Achilles tendon there in a road playoff loss.
Boston entered the night at 54-25 and could lock up the No. 2 seed with one more victory or any New York loss. Tatum has not played at the Garden since that injury, and he made clear the venue still carries weight for him: “Yeah, I’ve thought about it,” he said, adding that he is “not thrilled to go back and play there.”
The injury report gives Boston a mixed look. Jaylen Brown was out with left Achilles tendinitis, while Sam Hauser was available. Neemias Queta was listed as questionable with a right toe sprain and Derrick White was questionable with a right knee contusion. Tatum, meanwhile, said he intended to suit up despite the short turnaround and the fact that he has not played in a back-to-back this season.
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Boston’s situation is shaped by both urgency and numbers. The Celtics have won eight of their last 10 and are 7-3 against the spread in that span, while New York entered at 51-28 and has gone 7-3 over its last 10. Boston has scored 114.6 points per game and allowed 106.9, while New York has averaged 116.8 and allowed 110.4.
The matchup also carries the edge of a postseason preview, with Boston and New York fighting for seeding late in the regular season. The Celtics were scheduled to host New Orleans on Friday, so Thursday’s game came with the added strain of a quick turnaround. Tatum, who has returned this season to average 21.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 15 games, framed the decision simply: he came back to play, and this was one more game on the schedule.
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What remains is whether Boston can finish the job now or whether the No. 2 seed waits another night. The injury report may have dominated the buildup, but the larger issue is the same one the Celtics have been chasing for weeks: seeding, health and whether they can keep both intact at once.
