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Tim Bontemps
multiple authors
Inside TD Garden home locker room, boston celtics Ahead jayson tatum He was asked about the frustration he experienced during the nearly 300-day journey back from a ruptured Achilles.
“I don’t know what it’s going to be like,” Tatum told reporters after Sunday’s loss to Boston. minnesota timberwolves. “It’s hard. Right now, you try not to think about it. You just want to be Jayson Tatum and feel like yourself again.
“I’m not Superman, so obviously it’s going to take some time.”
After missing the first 62 games, Tatum returned on March 6 to a standing ovation from the Boston crowd. and several times, including debut that season against dallas mavericks Including 15 points and 12 rebounds in 27 minutes, Tatum showed glimpses of the All-NBA game that has made the 28-year-old wing One of the top 10 players in the league.
Tatum has scored in double figures in all eight games he has played – he has reached at least 20 points in five of them – with four double-doubles. But these numbers hide Boston’s understandable growing pains in bringing back its superstar in the midst of a playoff push.
The Celtics, whose revamped roster entered this season with the franchise’s lowest expectations in a decade, have snapped a memorable campaign that has them in second place in the Eastern Conference and the betting favorites to reach the Finals. (Wednesday nightBoston hosts the defending champions, the only team in the league with better NBA title odds oklahoma city thunder.)
Tatum will need to progress toward his pre-injury form to return to those heights. And as the franchise navigates the push and pull of a nearly unprecedented situation, Tatum and the Celtics represent perhaps the biggest wild card of the 2026 playoffs.
“The question is, do they have enough time to figure it out?” A Western Conference scout told ESPN. “[Eleven more] There aren’t a lot of regular season games.”
boston season was Due to Tatum’s injury and offseason departure, is projected to have a gap year. junior holiday, kristaps porzingis, al horford And luke cornet Left the team without most of the 2024 championship. celtics never adopted that approachAnd Tatum’s potential return to Boston’s top tier in the East comes as a surprise.
Even going back to Tatum’s surgery — which was performed the morning after the Game 4 loss new York Knicks To avoid inflammation and speed up his recovery by a month – there was speculation that Tatum could actually return at some point during the 2025–26 season.
“[Because of] The seriousness with which you go about getting surgery,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said before Tatum’s return game. ”The seriousness in which you start attacking the rehab process, not just from a physical, but mental and emotional standpoint. …
“I knew he would do everything he could.”
As Tatum went through the checkpoints, attention turned to what he would look like When? He eventually made his comeback. Once he did that, the conversation changed again.
Can Tatum possibly get his superstar form back in time for a deep playoff run?
“I’m taking it day by day,” Tatum said Sunday. “Probably the worst injury I’ve had. I’m back after 10 months.”
“I wanted to be perfect and,” Tatum continued, snapping his fingers, “[return to] First-team All-NBA Jason loves it. I didn’t rush the rehab process, so I can’t rush it.”
Tatum’s first eight games featured a lot of peaks and valleys, with two numbers that immediately stand out: a 30.8% usage rate and a heavy reliance on 3-pointers.
“It would be better if he could pass the ball a little bit better,” an East assistant coach said. “But I don’t expect that to happen.”
Tatum’s usage, while consistent with his past five seasons, does not equate to a player returning to play. “That’s too much,” another West scout said bluntly.
“A big part of it is coming back and being who you were before,” said an assistant coach whose team has faced Tatum this season. “It’s hard to say, ‘I’m back, but I’m only able to play X amount of minutes.'”
Additionally, Tatum has taken 75 of his 139 shots (53.9%) from behind the arc.
“For me, [nearly nine] 3s tell a game story.” the assistant coach said. “He’s still very smart, and he can shoot it. but he doesn’t seem confident [his leg yet]Or he can’t get to people yet, so he’s hunting for his jumper more than ever.”
But looking at Tatum’s early shooting numbers, which included 38.8% overall and 29.3% from 3 in the games he played, is not properly measuring his potential impact. While scoring often gets the most attention — heading into 2025-26, Tatum averaged more than 26 points in five consecutive seasons — he has added considerable value in other areas throughout his career.
Despite his lack of explosiveness, Tatum is averaging a career-high 8.9 rebounds, which has been vital for a smaller Celtics roster after losing big men in Porzingis, Horford and Kornet last summer. Tatum has always been a strong team assist defender and has averaged 1.1 steals this season.
Another assistant coach who has watched the Celtics since Tatum’s return said, “I think they’re the best team in the East.” “I don’t think him coming back will help now, but I think it will help in the playoffs.
“It doesn’t look like he has confidence in that leg yet. [But] If you let him shoot spot-up jumpers and rhythm looks, he’ll be good.”
facing the challenge Tatum and the Celtics are balancing the natural desire to get back into the first option role and the reality that the best immediate path forward is to move Tatum into a secondary role behind an MVP contender. jaylen brown.
“[Tatum] It seems like most people are coming out of a sad time: not great. So it is very difficult to come back now. There’s a lot of downside to it, but not a lot of upside,” said one East scout, adding that he believes the Celtics are giving Tatum as much leeway as he needs to get back up to speed.
As an example of how Boston could adapt to Tatum going forward, the former West scout pointed to the change that is taking place Los Angeles Lakers Crimes in recent weeks, such as Lebron James Has assumed a new role as a secondary option at left back luka doncic.
“To their credit, and to their credit, [LeBron is] Playing the right way,” the scout said. “He’s a basketball specialist, and he’s figuring out how to fill the gaps and they’re unstoppable right now. “With Tatum working back, you’re going to have a tough time and you’re just going to have to bide your time.”
Tatum has taken massive jordan walshMinutes in Boston’s rotation. The energetic third-year forward averaged 17.2 minutes but has not played in Boston’s last five games. Walsh’s 5.3 points per game this season are a lot less than a rusty Tatum — even less than a full-strength version.
Naturally, it will take time for Tatum to return to his peak — something that every source asked about his return believes will happen eventually. Whether this is during Boston’s upcoming playoff run is certainly one of the biggest questions facing the conference.
Last year’s conference champion, Indiana Pacersare in the midst of a real gap year after year Tyrese Haliburton Suffered an Achilles tear in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. detroit pistons He has had a remarkable season in the conference, but questions remain about his ability to score in the playoffs. They have not won a playoff series since 2008, and their supper star, Cade CunninghamSidelined with a collapsed lung.
The Knicks and cleveland cavaliersThe Bears, meanwhile, entered the season as co-favorites to win the conference, but had too many false starts, casting doubt on one’s ability to advance further. And other teams in the East who were once thought to have a chance to really make some noise – such as orlando magic, atlanta hawks And philadelphia 76ers — Have fallen short.
However, the Celtics have always believed that they can win everything. That was Mazzulla’s message during training camp, and it remains the team’s belief now that Tatum is back. Boston is not only trying to get back to the NBA Finals, but they’re also trying to guide their star through an extremely difficult process of getting acclimated to high-level basketball right away — and with the playoffs just around the corner.
“The thing it reminds me of is, in a way [No. ] 45 Jordan years,” the former assistant coach said, referring to Michael Jordan’s return from playing baseball in March of the 1994–95 season. “He’s working to get back into shape in mid-season, gaining speed, and we’ll see if he can.”
