Celtics showing fatigue late in NBA Finals

BOSTON – Warriors forward Draymond Green is playing in his sixth NBA Finals. Green coined the “82-game players vs. 16-game players” framing. He certainly understands what it takes to handle the grueling road to this point.

“You don’t allow yourself to think about fatigue or feel fatigue,” Green said. “You kind of feel that after the series is over. When you’re in the midst of this, you don’t have time to think about it. There’s enough to think about within a series.”

Celtics coach Ime Udoka used the word “fatigue” seven times in his press conference after losing Game 5. Six times in response to questions not directly on the topic!

It was a startling admission. Coaches rarely discuss fatigue at this stage of the year. Especially not a coach as intolerant of excuses as Udoka.

But Boston did look tired Monday.

Nobody more so than Jayson Tatum, who played 45 of 47 minutes before garbage time but shot 1-for-8 in the final 18 minutes. Don’t expect him to rest much more facing elimination in Game 6 tonight, though.

“That’s what timeouts are for,” Tatum said. “…I can rest all summer.

“It’s just mental. You got to fight through that. I’m not the only person that is tired or dealing with injuries or whatever. Last two teams standing.

Yet, nobody has carried a load like Tatum to get this far.

By leading the Celtics to seven-game wins over the Bucks in the second round and Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, Tatum has played 3,677 minutes between the regular season and playoffs – substantially more than anyone else this season:

Really, Tatum – who also played for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics last summer – is carrying a burden nearly unmatched in years.

In the 2014 Finals, the Spurs – who were way ahead of the curve on rest –