Boston Celtics team president Brad Stevens said during pregame on Friday night that the team is planning on limiting Jayson Tatum for the final stretch of the regular season, despite how Tatum feels about it.

Tatum has jokingly said that he and Stevens will eventually have a fight about him taking rest days and being load managed, especially down the stretch of the regular season nearing the playoffs.

“We need to balance it right, but we also need to make sure that he gets enough high-minute games, too.”

Tatum is averaging 37.3 minutes per game this season, which is the second most in the NBA behind Pascal Siakam. It’s fair to say it, and we all know it, the team was exhausted by the time they made it to the playoffs last year and didn’t have enough left in the tank when they landed in the Finals.

Brad Stevens says Jayson Tatum will have some rest days during the final third of the regular season, even though JT wants to play every game.

“We need to balance it right, but we also need to make sure that he gets enough high-minute games, too.”

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 10, 2023

It’s an organizational goal not to allow that to happen again. Stevens understands balance will be key here between rest and high usage nights in preparation for staying conditioned for multiple playoffs series.

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