In his 10th game back with the Boston Celtics on Friday night, Jayson Tatum delivered his best performance of the season by dominating the second half against the Atlanta Hawks. It wasn’t particularly efficient, at least not by his standards, and afterward, he admitted the process of building himself back up has brought a mix of emotions.
Jayson Tatum’s return to basketball hasn’t been seamless, but he’s grateful for how far he’s come and for those who have been by his side.
“Playing through it,” Tatum
told reporters, per CLNS Media. “I feel rusty, obviously. You can probably see in moments when it doesn’t look the same, or it looks rusty. But I think the mindset of onto the next play (helps). I’m thankful that I got teammates and the coaching staff that are patient with me in this moment as I’m trying to figure it out.”
Tatum missed five layups in Boston’s 109-102 win over Atlanta at TD Garden. He had just five points at the end of the first quarter and remained there by halftime after going scoreless in the second, missing all seven of his attempts. Five of those shots came within 13 feet of the basket, making it even tougher to watch as teammate Payton Pritchard kept the Celtics within striking distance while Tatum struggled to find his rhythm and contribute to the cause.
When dissecting the rust itself, Tatum couldn’t pinpoint anything specific.
“It’s all over the place sometimes,” Tatum explained. “I’ll be dribbling the f—ing ball, and I just mishandle it. Sometimes I still have the ball, but it’s just like, ‘Damn.’ It is frustrating. Obviously, some of the shots and layups at the rim — just kind of moving too fast a little bit. It’s frustrating to me.”
Since rejoining Boston after nearly 10 months away from basketball, Tatum has contributed. His 9.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals through 10 games lead all Celtics. The issue is that Tatum’s recovery didn’t end after he suited back up against the Dallas Mavericks three weeks ago. It’s ongoing, and each game is another step in the process of returning to his old form.
That requires a level of patience that Tatum hasn’t had to demonstrate before in his career. So every turnover, every missed layup, every jumper that doesn’t fall is difficult to take in stride at times, knowing it’s a reminder that there’s still work to do.
Tatum overcame his five-point first quarter and scoreless second against Atlanta by turning it up in the second half. He absorbed contact from C.J. McCollum after cutting to the basket and finishing the layup, converting the and-1. He then knocked down a 12-foot fadeaway jumper, helping spark a 21-point surge across the third and fourth quarters before finishing with a season-best 26 points in an impressive turnaround.
But Tatum’s scoring wasn’t what Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla felt helped Boston in the absence of Jaylen Brown.
“I saw his defensive rebounding; I thought that was the most important thing,” Mazzulla told reporters, per CLNS Media. “I thought offensively, he got into the paint and was able to get to the free-throw line — shot 10 free throws — just continuing to chip away and give the game what it needs. He was aggressive in his drives. He missed some easy layups there, but as long as he stays aggressive, makes the right reads, and continues to rebound, he’s continuing to get better and better.”
Even if his scoring isn’t flashy, it’s just one of several ways Tatum has pitched in. He has not only rebounded as well as he did before suffering his ruptured right Achilles last May, but he’s also been an elite playmaker, setting teammates up to keep the offense active and flowing.
There’s always the pressure to immediately return to the superstar version Tatum was in his first eight seasons with the Celtics, but that will take time. For now, it helps that Boston’s coaching staff remains by his side through the ups and downs.
Mazzulla played Tatum a team-high 36:36 on Friday night, including the entire fourth quarter. It’s unclear what that will mean going forward, as Mazzulla continues to manage Tatum’s minutes based on his on-court response rather than a fixed plan.
“There isn’t a specific number,” Mazzulla clarified. “It’s more about what looks best for us, where we’re at, what we need, and we continue to go from there. He played the whole (fourth) quarter a couple of games in a row, and he’s handling it well, and we continue to assess that and go from there.”
The Celtics worked their way into a strong position, holding the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference since Jan. 15 and sitting four games behind the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. They earned that spot without Tatum, building an identity to withstand the production lost in his absence. Now, with him back, Boston’s chances of returning to the NBA Finals for a third time in five seasons are more legit than ever. Tatum and Brown’s 50-point combined effort against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday proved the Celtics aren’t just poised for a feel-good, Cinderella run — they’re back and ready to make a serious push for it all.
Tatum will be a key piece of that journey, as he was two years ago.
In the meantime, whenever Tatum needs a break from the basketball court, he looks to those closest to him as a father of two.
“I think right now, when I’m frustrated or really want to be better, just going home and my kids,” Tatum told reporters. “Now I’ve got two boys, and it just kind of puts things in perspective and helps me forget about what just happened or transpired in the game.
“I talk about it all the time: being a father is second to none. And now, having two boys and seeing their relationship develop, it was just one kid running to me when I walked in the house. Now it’s two, so that’s a cool feeling.”
