The last couple of games haven’t exactly been masterpieces for Jayson Tatum, and in the eight games he has played in so far this season, he’s shooting just 38.8% from the floor and 29.3% from three-point range. And guess what? It doesn’t matter.
Tatum tore his achilles in May; one of the most devastating injuries a basketball player can suffer. Not even 10 months later, he’s back on the court, playing in the NBA again. Many assumed he’d be out for the entire season. Many feared he’d never get back to 100%.
And yet, despite all that, he’s back on the court for a late-season push to try and help his team win another championship. It’s miraculous that he’s even on the court, playing over 30 minutes in recent games, scoring almost 20 points per game with 8.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists, and most importantly, impacting winning.
Still, all over social media and throughout NBA discourse, you’ll see fans and media members losing their minds over bad shooting nights, over JT looking a step slower, over some of his shot selection, and his efforts to fit into the team that was playing so well without him. And that’s insane.
Celtics should appreciate everything Jayson Tatum is doing
For months, Celtics fans begged to see Tatum on the floor again, and the discourse seemed very reasonable. It seemed to be a general consensus that if he came back this season, he would need time to get right physically and mentally, to truly trust his body and his game, to shake the rust off, and to acclimate back to NBA basketball and to playing with his Celtics teammates.
It’s an insane ask for any human being, but after all that waiting, Tatum came back and looked good, and all of these tempered expectations have unfairly gone right out the window. People are expecting him to be back to 100% of his old self, criticizing him for poor shooting, and holding him to ridiculous standards.
It shows how great a player Tatum is and was, and how quickly he has come back and how good he has looked, that seemingly rational people have completely lost the plot. There are going to be ups and downs, growing pains, and struggles. Frankly, it would be extremely weird if there weren’t.
Tatum's approval rating should be 100% within Celtics' Nation
Tatum's even returning this season should be lauded and celebrated and viewed as a massive bonus and a head start on his recovery. Anything he adds to the Celtics this year should be viewed as a luxury, and both he and the team are essentially playing with house money.
Sure, there are now championship expectations thanks to how well everyone has played, but that shouldn’t change how anyone views JT’s recovery. It’s unilaterally impressive and selfless what he’s doing for this team. These last few weeks of the regular season should be all about getting him back up to speed and playing himself into a comfort zone so that he can be optimized in the playoffs and ready to start next season at full strength.
These have been the most ambitious goals all along, and for some fans to move the goal posts now is infuriating and delusional. Appreciate and enjoy what’s happening. It’s going to take time, and it’s not always going to look beautiful. But it’s damn good already, and it’s only going to keep getting better.