Saturday night marked Jayson Tatum’s fourth game back since returning from a ruptured right Achilles tendon. His transition from five-on-five team scrimmages to rejoining the Boston Celtics’ starting lineup was swift, and coach Joe Mazzulla hopes that doesn’t get taken for granted.
Coming back from a nearly 10-month recovery isn’t something that produces immediate results like those Tatum provided before surgery. Yet, Mazzulla already sees the impact Tatum is having.
“I think sometimes these guys get
judged by just the points, and some of that is their responsibility,” Mazzulla told reporters, per CLNS Media.
Tatum played 32 minutes in Saturday’s 111-100 win over the Washington Wizards — his most since coming back. He got off to a slow start, missing his first five shots, including three layups. He went into halftime having shot only 2-of-8 with eight points, before finishing with 20 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. The scoring was modest by his standards, but as Mazzulla pointed out, focusing only on points does a disservice to all the other ways Tatum has helped the Celtics.
“He’s rebounding, he’s boxing out, he’s making the right play, getting to space, and doing all the things that impact winning,” Mazzulla told reporters. “So I think that’s more important than anything else.”
More than half of Tatum’s assists went to center Neemias Queta. Using the attention he drew from Washington’s defense, Tatum helped fuel Queta’s career-best first-half start. Queta scored 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting by halftime to keep pressure on the Wizards, courtesy of Tatum’s playmaking.
“He’s giving the game exactly what it needs,” Mazzulla added.
The missed layups, which kept Tatum from finishing with 28 points instead of 20, are typical for a player returning from an injury of his severity. It’s been almost a year since he last played NBA basketball, which is vastly different from drills or five-on-five scrimmages.
But little by little, as he logs more minutes, Tatum feels his comfort returning.
“Compared to the first game, I feel a lot more relaxed,” Tatum told reporters, per CLNS Media. “Obviously, the first game was such a big moment. I think now I’m finding more and more moments where I’m feeling more confident, more explosive. Whether it’s driving or a closeout or reacting to something, it’s just more and more moments each game where I find plays where — maybe it’s not a big play that people notice — but it’s something that I noticed, and it gave me confidence.”
Eight days ago, during Tatum’s return game against the Dallas Mavericks, he missed a one-handed dunk from just two feet away. In the third quarter against Washington, Tatum euro-stepped past Tre Johnson in transition for a slick two-handed dunk.
The difference reflects what he’s working toward, and each game brings him closer to where he wants to be.
With 15 games left in Boston’s regular season and five weeks until the playoffs, Tatum is committed to the plan. The Celtics, now 44-23 after defeating the Wizards, remain a major threat in the Eastern Conference. Having Tatum back in the mix, whether as a scorer, a rebounder, or a facilitator, only makes Boston even stronger moving forward.
“I knew that my minutes would go up a little bit this week, and that’s just the progression,” Tatum told reporters. “I was playing 27 minutes the first three games. They go up a little bit for a week or so to see how you respond. But obviously I’ve been responding really well and feeling great the next day and after the games, and we go from there.”
Tatum added: “Since May 13, nobody’s done more calf raises than me.”
For the time being, Tatum is embracing everything that comes with his return — even the not-so-fun parts. During Boston’s matchup with the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, Tatum hit the deck after getting shoved by Victor Wembanyama in the third quarter. He didn’t think much of it, chalking it up as part of the game.
“You’ve got to enjoy all aspects of coming back to play, not just the fun parts,” Tatum told reporters. “Like getting knocked on your ass and falling is a part of being in the NBA. When (Wembanyama) pushed me, it knocked me off balance, but I laid there for a second like, ‘All right, I’m fine.’ It’s just moments like that where it’s been a while since something like that has happened. So, it is a good feeling of like, ‘I’m back.’”
