The Boston Celtics managed about as amazingly as possible since Jayson Tatum's return, and since re-integrating their superstar, the team still hasn't skipped a beat. It would be hard to think the Celtics could reach another level, but they absolutely can.
While many will point to Tatum's increasing comfort level on the court as the secret to Boston unlocking another level, there's another factor at play that should not be discounted: when he and Nikola Vucevic take the floor together once the latter returns from injury.
First of all, we have seen the Celtics turn into an unstoppable force when they have paired Tatum with a stretch five. Look no further than when he played with Al Horford for six years, or Kristaps Porzingis' first year in Boston. Vucevic isn't the same player, but there is skill overlap between him and the two former Celtics big men.
Second, from a net-rating perspective, Vucevic and Tatum, in their limited sample sizes, have been net positives for Boston, per NBA.com. Boston has been a plus-8.1 with Vuc on the floor (what's even more striking is that he's made their defense better), while being a plus-7.3 with Tatum on the floor (this, even though Tatum's three hasn't fully come back yet).
Third, we have seen the Celtics trot out Luka Garza as a stretch five against two of the NBA's very best teams in San Antonio and Oklahoma City, and it worked tremendously because it drew Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren out of the paint, forcing their elite defenses to compromise. Imagine Vucevic, a stretch big man more feared than Garza, taking that role.
They'll have to learn on the fly, but it shouldn't take long
Vucevic and Tatum never got to play any time together, as the former subbed in literally as the latter subbed out in his season debut. Vucevic then broke his finger a little over a minute into his playing time.
He is expected to come back before the postseason, but it sounds like it will be just before the postseason starts. That gives him little time to get acquainted with Tatum, but both are smart players that should figure out how to work with each other.
Garza isn't the exact same player as Vucevic, but he has enough similarities with him that Tatum has gotten a solid sample of what playing with the two-time All-Star will be like. Vucevic has never played with a player like Tatum, but he has adjusted well to being a backup, and given Tatum's history of success when playing with Boston's second unit, they should be able to figure each other out.
Boston having two of its net-positives in time for the playoffs will be a massive boost. We won't know how well Tatum and Vucevic will play once they hopefully get paired up, but there's enough evidecne to believe that it could go wonderfully if they figure it out.