Joe Mazzulla isn't too worried about Jayson Tatum. The Boston Celtics had a rough first game of the 2026-27 NBA season, as they squandered a big lead and lost to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, 121-113.

Tatum is among the culprits behind Boston's struggles against the Pistons, largely because of his ugly shooting, but Mazzulla would still prefer to see the star forward keep launching shots even if the rhythm isn't there.

“I just want him to continue to make the right play,” Mazzulla said of Tatum during the postgame press conference, via Celtics on CLNS.

“If he's open, shoot it. I don't care if he's 0 for 10. If you're open shoot it,” Mazzulla added.

Tatum finished the game with the most minutes played among Celtics players, but only had 13 points to show. He was just 6-for-23 from the field and missed all of his seven attempts from behind the arc. While he dished out 11 assists, Boston sorely missed his scoring, especially in the second half, where the six-time NBA All-Star couldn't find his shot, going 1-for-10 in the final 24 minutes.

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With Tatum misfiring, Boston newcomer and veteran forward Paul George led the way for the Celtics' offense. George scored the most points by a player in his Celtics debut with 38 points on 12-for-21 shooting from the field.

The good news for Tatum is that there is a whole lot of action ahead for the Celtics, and he could get back to his usual scoring ways as soon as Friday, when Boston welcomes the reignign NBA champions New York Knicks at TD Garden in Boston.