Joe Mazzulla: Jaylen Brown’s Injury Is Not Considered Serious

On Tuesday's edition of Zolak and Bertrand, Joe Mazzulla who is the head coach of the Celltics, joined the program. Mazzulla discussed if there was any extra motivation for Jayson Tatum, in the superstar's first matchup with Steve Kerr following Tatum's benching at the Olympics. Along with that, the Celtics' coach also highlighted that Jaylen Brown's injury is not something that the team considers to be a long term ailment.

Joe Mazzulla: One, I was glad that Jayson was okay. I thought the other guys responded well to the chippy play. I think that ended up being good for us. Grateful that there was some chaos created. I love the way JT handled it and I love the way our team handled it. I thought it brought out a different edge for us.

Bertrand: I thought the way Jayson Tatum handled it, was exactly the way you'd want a guy to handle it. He got right back up and was ready to continue playing. Like, let's keep going.

Joe Mazzulla: Exactly.

Bertrand: Speaking of Jayson Tatum, big one on your schedule coming up tomorrow against Golden State. There's obviously the Golden State factor, that's there has been a little bit of a rivalry between the Celtics, and the Warriors in recent years. But in addition to that, there's this added element now of Steve Kerr being the head coach, and Steve Kerr being the guy that didn't play Jayson Tatum in the Olympics. I know you've talked a lot about this. But do you think there's a little extra juice added to this game for tomorrow night?

Joe Mazzulla: We said this before, J.T doesn't need extra things to motivate him. I think he's highly intrinsically motivated, which is one of the reasons why he's great. I do think there'll be some extra energy in the arena. We're playing for the Boston Celtics. We have the best fans, and the best arena. I expect it to be a lot of fun tomorrow.

Zolak: Joe I've played with guys that have had that that hip flexor, and have had different hip injuries. I've seen it handled many ways where rest is recommended. I've also seen surgery, where they go in and they clean some stuff up. How concerned are you with Jaylen Brown, since his game is so predicated on his explosiveness.

Joe Mazzulla: I'm not concerned. It's day to day. It's a strain. You know, he's working really hard in treatment every day, and just kind of working to get back at it. So I'm not concerned, and I don't think he is either.

Zolak: So you don't think it's serious? Like it's just something he has to deal with, so to speak?

Joe Mazzulla: Yeah.

The defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics have made waves all offseason with GM Brad Stevens resigning just about the entire title winning team over the summer. Stevens struck again on Wednesday night with the signing of 25-year old Lonnie Walker IV. Walker is a 6'4 shooting guard who can play the 3 when asked, last season Walker averaged 9.7 points and shot 38% on three-pointers in 58 games for the Brooklyn Nets.

While some casual NBA fans will say, so what the NBA Champs added Lonnie Walker the roster was loaded already this isn't really a major move. I would agree with the sentiment but when you factor in just how much basketball this group has played over the last few seasons. Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown making deep playoff runs every year the deeper the bench the better for Boston's chances of repeating.

The Celtics were able to retain just about all of their players from last season but did lose Oshae Brissett and I believe Walker to be an upgrade over Brissett. Walker is a better shooter which we know Joe Mazzulla loves. His ability to spread the floor and be a consistent threat from outside is an upgrade over Brissett who was a .273 shooter from beyond the arc last season.

So while on the surface this is a very marginal move for the Celtics. Any move that bolsters the roster for a team looking to repeat as NBA champions is welcomed. The more rest they can give their stars throughout the season the more well rested they should be for another deep playoff run.

Listen to Joe Murray 7-11 every Monday-Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub. You can listen live in the Sports Hub App and subscribe to their podcasts here. Follow on X @JoeyMurr and Instagram @ImJoeMurray to keep up with the show!