When you'll see the Celtics throughout All-Star weekend

BOSTON -- The Celtics hit the All-Star break as the best team in basketball, and now most of the squad will get some well deserved R&R over the next week.

Derrick White could certainly use the break, and he made that pretty clear during Wednesday night's blowout win over the Pistons. He's been playing out of his mind lately, but looked exhausted after taking a blow to the head Tuesday before getting hit in the chops on Wednesday.

At least now he can get some nice rest before the final stretch of the regular season. Veterans Al Horford (34) and Malcolm Brogdon (30) will certainly welcome the rest too. 

But Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown (and his fractured face), and freshly named head coach Joe Mazzulla (along with the rest of his coaching staff) will all be in Utah for this weekend's festivities. The Celtics will be well-represented in Salt Lake City, and could maybe do some of that recruiting for the future that other stars have done in years past.

While Tatum (who ranks fourth in the league with 1,685 minutes played ) could probably use the rest more than any other Celtics player, he'll be a busy man this weekend. He will get plenty of the exposure that players crave during the All-Star festivities, and will have multiple chances to shine throughout the NBA's showcase weekend. (We have to imagine that Deuce will be along for all the fun as well, and will almost certainly steal the show.)

Tatum will get a jump start on his All-Star weekend, taking part in Saturday night's 3-point contest. This will be Tatum's second go at a 3-point crown, after he finished third in 2021. He hasn't been particularly great from downtown this season, shooting just 35.7 percent from downtown, but the league wants stars in these events. He won't have to worry about having a defender or two in front of him on Saturday, and he's shooting 44.7 percent on his wide open looks from 3-point land this season. He also had a nice warm-up for the event on Wednesday night, when he sank six of his 10 threes against the Pistons.

Tatum said he's determined to win the 3-point contest this year, and he has brought home some Saturday night glory before. He beat out Trae Young in the Skills Challenge in 2019, his second season in the league. This year, he's looking to become the first Celtics player to win the 3-point contest since Paul Pierce did so in 2010.

Unfortunately, we don't know when the 3-point contest will start. The Saturday night extravaganza will begin at 8 p.m. with the Skills Challenge, with the 3-point contest set to start shortly after that event wraps up. These things tend to drag on for a bit, so bring your patience to the couch on Saturday night. And at least Tatum won't have to sit through the painfully slow Dunk Contest before showing off his long distance shot.

Then there is Sunday night. Now a four-time All-Star, Tatum was voted to be a starter for the first time in his career. He started last year's game, but that was as an injury replacement. We don't know which team he'll play for just yet, as Team Giannis and Team LeBron will draft their squads at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday night. That should make for some interesting viewing as well.

We should know before Sunday if Brown will be playing. Despite being injured, the now two-time All-Star has yet to say if he's playing or not in Sunday's exhibition. But there's a chance that Brown could debut his new protective facial mask in the defense-optional All-Star Game.

If either lands on Team Giannis, they'll hear a familiar voice from the bench. With the Celtics owning the best record in the East, Mazzulla and his staff will "coach" Team Giannis. Hopefully both Celtics players make that squad and Mazzulla can plant them on the bench for the majority of the contest. There's no need for either to exert a ton of energy in a meaningless All-Star Game when the real goal is a title come June. The last thing anyone in Boston needs is a repeat of the 2020 All-Star Game, when Kemba Walker and his balky knees played nearly 30 minutes. Thanks a lot, Nick Nurse.

But no matter how much Tatum and Brown play -- or don't play -- or if Tatum wins the 3-point contest or not, both players are getting some well deserved recognition for their own personal success and the team's overall success. The same goes for Mazzulla, who is now the eighth Celtics coach to get tabbed for an All-Star Game.

All three have earned their spot in this weekend's festivities, and should enjoy every second they're out in Utah.