The Boston Celtics made easy work of the Orlando Magic in a lopsided Game 1 victory Sunday. There is, however, some cause for concern after Jayson Tatum took a hard fall following a flagrant foul from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was given a flagrant foul 1 for this play on Jayson Tatum. pic.twitter.com/g2xnIzkuTm
— ESPN (@espn) April 20, 2025
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, who captured some attention for telling his superstar to simply get up after the collision, provided an update on Tatum's availability. According to Mazzulla, Tatum is "day to day," and aren't we all?
Joe telling the trainer not to go out to Tatum and then immediately screaming "GET UP" is why he's the perfect man for this job pic.twitter.com/GKi9hALfV4
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) April 21, 2025
He was also asked about the viral clip of imploring Tatum to get up and explained that's simply what love looks like.
Will Jayson Tatum be good to go tomorrow?
— Meghan Ottolini (@Meghan_Ottolini) April 22, 2025
“Day to day” according to Mazzulla.
What was going on with the camera capturing him apparently telling Tatum to get up after the flagrant foul?
“Love” pic.twitter.com/01mCEiTSdC
There just aren't many coaches or managers in professional sports like Mazzulla. His quirkiness kind of flies under the radar during the regular season but if the Celtics go on a deep playoff run, we're all going to be reminded that he marches to the beat of his own drum and that it's playing along to The Town soundtrack at all times. But, to be fair, he was correct. Tatum did have to get up. And after getting up he's going to have to get back out there and help win 15 more games to capture the sport's ultimate prize.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Joe Mazzulla Had One-Word Explanation for Why He Yelled at Jayson Tatum After Hard Fall.
