Celtics’ Jayson Tatum reveals details about mysterious illness

The Boston Celtics have played some inconsistent basketball in recent weeks, but are still one of the better teams in the NBA. Boston lost its second straight game when it lost at home to the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day.

Previously, Boston lost to the severely undermanned Orlando Magic in a strange game. Earlier in the game, the Celtics’ star forward Jayson Tatum was left out of the starting lineup due to a mysterious illness.

Boston didn’t comment too much on it and Tatum ultimately didn’t play in the game. The star returned to the lineup for the game against the 76ers and did his best to push Boston forward.

Tatum had 32 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. It wasn’t enough to win, but in hindsight Tatum addressed the strange illness that forced him to play against the Magic.

“Small virus, 24-hour, 48-hour virus. I was fine all day, I was fine during the warm-up, then it just hit me during our meeting right before the game. Let’s just put it this way, I lost a lot of fluids last year.” So I guess I’m a little tired because I’ve been sick the last few days, but I’ve been trying to hold on and catch my breath.

Luckily for the Celtics, Tatum appears to be doing just fine. But there was a lot of surprise surrounding the illness as the team didn’t really say much before the game.

Tatum’s return to the lineup against the 76ers was nice to see despite the loss. Boston has looked complacent in recent games and will need to work on bringing the right attitude into every game going forward.

After winning a title, it’s common for teams to take a step back or take their foot off the pedal during the regular season. It seems like the Celtics are experiencing that right now, but they are still one of the better teams in the league.

Boston simply needs to get to the playoffs as healthy as possible. The team doesn’t care if they have a home advantage, even if it would be nice to keep it.

This team is battle tested and there aren’t too many concerns in the building right now.

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