Stevens says Celtics are healthy as Tatum and George begin first camp together

Brad Stevens said the Celtics are healthy as they enter training camp, giving Boston its first chance to build around Jayson Tatum and Paul George with the roster assembled this summer. At Monday's media day at the Auerbach Center, Stevens answered yes when asked if everyone was healthy, according to the Boston Globe's live reporting. Practices begin Tuesday.

The statement matters because Tatum's return from a ruptured Achilles shaped last season. Boston's own roster review says he missed the first 62 games before returning in March, then averaged 21.8 points, 10 rebounds and 5.3 assists over 16 regular-season games. A full offseason gives him a different starting point, though the team has not announced a final rotation or a workload plan.

Tatum also addressed his new running mate. In a video posted by the NBA on Monday, he said George was a player whose film he studied while growing up. George followed him at the media-day podium. The pairing replaces the long-running Tatum–Jaylen Brown partnership after Boston traded Brown to Philadelphia for George and other assets this summer.

George said at his Celtics introduction that he felt healthier after an offseason without the rehabilitation that limited him in recent years, according to the team's roster review. That is George's account, not a prediction of how many games he will play. His immediate basketball job is clear enough: provide another wing who can space the floor, handle possessions and defend beside Tatum. Stevens told the Globe he believes this roster can score in several ways and pose different matchup problems.

The first tests will come in camp and preseason, not at a microphone. Boston opens the regular season at Detroit on Oct. 20, according to the NBA schedule. Monday established that the club expects a healthy starting group; the coming weeks will show how Joe Mazzulla distributes its work.