It’s official: Jayson Tatum is back.
The five-time All-NBA wing is available to play for Boston on Friday night against Dallas, just 10 months after tearing his Achilles tendon in a playoff game against New York.
This is not a surprise. Tatum had been moved from “out” to “questionable” on Thursday, the first step in a player coming off a long absence returning to the lineup. Plus, the actions of the Celtics and Tatum himself pointed to this — Tatum has an ongoing docuseries on his return — “The Quiet Work,” available on Peacock — which is the kind of thing a player only does if he expects to return.
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Tatum will be on a minutes restriction, and while that number will increase with time, he is likely on one for the rest of the regular season (or close to it). Returning now gives Tatum and the Celtics about six weeks before the start of the playoffs to get him into game shape and find a rhythm with his teammates.
Tatum returning makes Boston better — this is a 28-year-old NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist who finished in the top six in MVP voting each of the past four seasons, and last season averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and six assists per game. Every team could use more size and shooting, and Tatum is a 6’8″ wing who has shot 37% from 3-point range for his career.
There will be some rough spots working Tatum back into the rotation. Boston has gone 41-21 this season without him, thanks in large part to Jaylen Brown playing at an MVP level and averaging 28.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and five assists per game. Brown has been the leader of this team and Tatum, coming back off an injury, will have to sacrifice a little to fit into this team’s system. That said, Brown and Tatum have proven they can play together and win together, and coach Joe Mazzulla has set the culture that everyone — including the stars — buys into.
Boston is about to get a lot better, starting tonight.
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