*UPDATE (4:30 pm Eastern Time): Jayson Tatum tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday night and is asymptomatic, reported Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe on Saturday.
The Celtics canceled their training on Saturday and closed their training facilities after Washburn’s positive Tatum test.
– End of update –
If the Celtics thought their depth was tested with Robert Williams, Tristan Thompson and Grant Williams aside due to the COVID-19 protocols, the situation will be much worse.
According to Atlético’s Shams Charania, Jayson Tatum should join his teammates on the sidelines and be quarantined due to the league’s health and safety protocols. He should be out of action for 10 to 14 days.
That schedule would force Tatum to miss at least five – and potentially even seven – Celtics games. Here is their schedule:
| Sun, January 10 | vs. Miami | 7:00 pm |
| Tue., January 12 | in Chicago | 8:00 pm |
| Wednesday, January 13 | x Orlando | 7:30 pm |
| Friday, January 15 | x Orlando | 7:30 pm |
| Sun, January 17 | vs. New York | 1 pm |
| Wednesday, January 20 | in philadelphia | 7:00 pm |
| Friday, January 22 | in philadelphia | 7:30 pm |
Hopefully for Tatum and the Celtics, he will only have to be gone for at least 10 days and will be back in time for C’s consecutive games against the leading 76ers of the Eastern Conference, who are dealing with their own COVID -19 issues. Philly currently has seven players in the health and safety protocol after close contact with Seth Curry, who tested positive earlier this week.
Losing Tatum – who comes from a 32-point team against the Wizards on Friday night – is obviously a huge blow for the Celtics. His average of 26.9 points per game is in eighth place in the NBA and he is in the middle of his best basketball phase this season, averaging 33 points from 52 percent of shots in his last three games.
