The Celtics offered a thrilling press release on Monday, announcing that Jayson Tatum would be participating in portions of practice with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League affiliate. This is incredible news, and it’s absolutely reason for excitement, but the release notably didn’t offer any injury timetable, just saying that JT would be recalled to Boston after the practice to continue his rehab process, and that “further updates will be provided as appropriate.”
Obviously, nothing is close to official here, but fans are going to speculate wildly, so we might as well add in some historical context. As Zach Cox of the Boston Herald reminded his followers on Monday, shortly after the Tatum update was released, when Kristaps Porzingis was returning from leg surgery last season, the Celtics followed this exact same process.
They brought the Maine Celtics to the Auerbach Center for a practice with KP, and Porzingis made his season debut just eight days later, significantly ahead of his expected timeline.
The two situations are certainly not the same. Tatum’s achilles injury is more severe, and he has missed much more time. His game is also more predicated on athleticism and explosion, plus he’s a 27-year-old face of the franchise player at the beginning of a supermax contract.
Hopefully, Tatum will be dazzling Celtics fans for another 10 years or so, and for that reason, everyone needs to be proceeding cautiously. But at the same time, this is massive!
Tatum season debut could be any day now
Tatum has been hinting that he would like to return this season for months now. The recent Chris Haynes report suggested it was no sure thing, but Ramona Shelburne quickly pushed back in a way that made it seem the conversation was getting realer as a potential return drew nearer.
Now, we know that JT is checking boxes left and right. Practicing with other professional players is a huge step, and something Tatum wouldn’t be doing unless he felt very confident. If those went well, and he feels good mentally and physically, it’s fair to assume that a season debut may truly be on the horizon.
The Celtics’ next game is on Wednesday night against the Bulls, then they’ll be off for over a week for the NBA All-Star break, with their ensuing game coming on Thursday, February 19th, at Golden State, exactly 10 days from this practice.
That may be in play, but it still feels soon, and JT has indicated that when he returns, he wants it to be at home. The Warriors game kicks off a four-game road trip with games against the Lakers, Suns, and Nuggets.
The Celtics get back home on Friday, February 27th, against the Nets. That would be 18 days from Monday’s practice at the Auebrach Center. Dare to dream, Celtics fans. Dare to dream.