Tatum lends hand to Fournier
Gives advice on how to recover from COVID
Evan Fournier, who now has to recover and get in shape following his lengthy time in health and safety protocol, has not been cleared to play in tonight’s game against Phoenix.
But as a player who has joined one of the hardesthit teams in the league by COVID, Fournier at least has many available resources — most notably Jayson Tatum.
The Celtics star has gone into great detail about recovering from the virus, including his lingering breathing issues and the fact that, to this day, he used an inhaler before games.
“I’ve talked to him quite a bit about it,” Tatum said of Fournier after Wednesday’s practice. “He’s asked me things, and I told him how I felt, and things to look out for when you get back. I think the toughest period is when you first get back. Obviously because you’ve been sitting down for awhile and because of the virus. Hopefully he’ll be alright — I’m sure he will. But he knows I’m here for anything while he’s dealing with it.”
When asked about the biggest lessons he has learned this season, Tatum couldn’t help pointing to the impact of COVID.
“Just how everyone has been affected by COVID, and how we’ve all had to be able to adjust on the fly,” he said. “This is an extremely unique season from everything and I think that the NBA and all the players and teams have done a great job managing it. Testing and all the protocols and being able to have a
successful season thus far. Obviously, you can’t control the positive tests and we knew that was going to happen, but I think from a whole, I think it’s been a successful season so far, and looks like it’s going to continue to be that way.”
Injuries, colds take toll
The Celtics are back in MASH unit mode.
Jaylen Brown, who complained of shoulder trouble following Monday’s loss to Chicago, has developed a case of bursitis in the joint and has been listed as doubtful for the Phoenix game.
Kemba Walker, still suffering from a non- COVID-related illness, will not practice tonight. Rob Williams is likely to miss his fourth straight game tonight with a sore knee.
Marcus Smart returned to practice after missing the Chicago loss with a non- COVID-related illness.
“We just haven’t had it even through this stretch,” Brad Stevens said of not being able to benefit from a healthy lineup. “We haven’t really had the chance to do that. We’ve had a little bit of that, when we were out west, but still that’s without Fornier, obviously missing Rob in the last game as well, so we just haven’t had that opportunity and I know we’re not unique in that. I know there’s other teams that are dealing with that as well. We’re hopeful at some point, here in the next 14 games we can have everybody on the roster available, but we’re still not there.”
Parent corner with Tatum
Tatum was in high school in St. Louis when the police killing of Michael Brown ignited tensions in nearby Ferguson.
And at some point, he admits, he’ll have to have a conversation with his three-year-old son, Deuce, about the battered relationship between Black people and the police.
“This is all new to me, the parenting thing and when to have those talks,” said Tatum. “Obvi
ously I’m going to have them one day. Now I understand how — every time I left the house when I was in high school, I didn’t realize all the things that my mom as a parent had to worry about. Just praying that I would make it home.
“Now that I have my own son I understand that feeling of just wanting him to be safe at all times. You hear the mantra just make your home safe and you can worry about everything else after that. I’m sure that as he gets older and starts to understand the world around him, he’ll start to ask more questions. To have those type of talks now at three, it’s hard to gauge everything for him. In a few years down the line I’m sure.”