Is Jayson Tatum playing tonight against the Chicago Bulls? Latest on Celtics star's availability (Nov. 28)

The Boston Celtics have a make-or-break in-season tournament game against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, November 28. If the Celtics win, they're in with a chance of progressing onto the knockout stages, assuming other results go their way in East Group C.

At the time of writing, Jayson Tatum is expected to participate in the game against Chicago. The St. Louis native has endured a difficult seven-day stretch while navigating through flu symptoms. However, against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, November 26, Tatum looked like he was back to his best.

Boston needs Tatum to be operating at a high level. He provides them with elite three-level scoring, playmaking, and rebounding. Tatum is also a talented wing defender who can impact things as a help defender who rotates over to protect the rim.

This season, a big evolution in his game has been his willingness to attack out of the post. He's getting into the mid-post consistently via cuts, slice actions, wedge screens and duck-ins, and has been scoring in a multitude of ways.

Chicago's porous defense and limited wing defenders will struggle to contain Tatum if he's operating anywhere near his best. Boston will look to space the floor and provide driving lanes for him and Jaylen Brown, applying severe rim pressure and forcing Nikola Vucevic into some tough choices.

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The Boston Celtics will be missing Kristaps Porzingis

During the Boston Celtics' 113-96 loss to the Orlando Magic on Friday, November 24, Kristaps Porzingis left the game with a calf injury. The star big man then missed Boston's victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Now, Porzingis is listed as out for the Celtics' game against the Chicago Bulls. Without the veteran floor spacer in the rotation, Al Horford will step into the starting lineup, with Luka Kornet absorbing a bigger role to help compensate.

Neemias Queta, who impressed against the Hawks, has been sent down to the Maine Celtics and isn't expected to feature in the game against Chicago at the time of writing.

Boston's depth in the middle of the floor has been a concern for the fanbase to begin the new season. Kornet is a viable third option at center, but question marks remain over his viability as a primary backup when he's tasked with stepping into a bigger role.

Nevertheless, Boston will be forced to manage with their makeshift center rotation as Porzingis continues his recovery. Whether Brad Stevens looks to strengthen the center position within the roster between now and February 8 remains to be seen.