Ime Udoka's Rockets were effective in limiting Tatum in the Celtics' loss Monday, but Joe Mazzulla's team adjusted and thrived in beating the Bulls.

Joe Mazzulla clapped on the sidelines as his Boston Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scuffled against the Atlanta Hawks. Mazzulla refused to step in as Tatum got tangled with Onyeka Okongwu.

As opponents have tried to dent the Celtics’ championship armor, however, Tatum has remained consistent. He ranks sixth in the NBA in scoring, (26.7 points per game). He has scored at least 30 points in 18 out of 45 games. And he remains on track to finish with career highs in rebounds (9.0) and assists (5.4) per game.

Joe Mazzulla defends Jayson Tatum following his tussle with Onyeka Okongwu during the Celtics overtime defeat to the Hawks.

After losing to the Hawks, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla made it clear that he's not scared of the challenges of the regular season.

Tatum (knee) is available for Wednesday's game against the Bulls. Head coach Joe Mazzulla deemed Tatum a game-time call, but the star forward will play while handling his regular workload. Since the beginning of January,

Those last two plays are on me. Those are my fault.” Joe Mazzulla pointed the finger at himself after the Celtics dropped a 114-112 thriller to the Rockets on Monday night.

Kristaps Porzingis has been earning significant praise for his recent performances. The veteran center has emerged as the Boston Celtics' best player over the past two weeks. His impact on the Celtics during their 122-100 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday,

Following the Celtics' win, Brown praised Porzingis' contributions during his postgame news conference. The 2024 Finals MVP declared that Porzingis can be 'scary' when playing at close to his best. You can watch Brown's full press conference by clicking on the embedded video above.

Boston’s options for adding on that front are quite limited with the assumption they don’t want to touch anyone in the existing rotation. Jaden Springer’s $4 million salary caps what the team can send out for a player in a swap since the Celtics can’t aggregate salaries as a second apron.

The stats say the Celtics have been one of the NBA’s best teams since mid-December. Their record says otherwise. What’s the problem? Joe Mazzulla had a simple and obvious explanation.