The Boston Celtics have been 6-2 in the eight games they've played with Jayson Tatum this season. They technically also lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but Tatum didn't play in that one, so that shouldn't be held against him. Coming off an Achilles tear, there was plenty of concern about how good he would look coming back, and he's looked impressive given the circumstances.
Alas, everyone should have expected there to be some warts when Tatum made it back to the floor, and they've been there. This was going to take time. So much so that it's very possible that him getting back to his normal self entirely may take well into next season for it to come to fruition.
It's clear eight games in what's been Tatum's problem: his efficiency. 19.1 points for someone less than a year removed from an Achilles tear is nothing to sneeze at, but his shooting splits of 38.8/29.3/85.2 are definitely not what fans have come to see from Tatum.
It's not like his shot selection has gotten worse or changed all that much. He's simply not hitting his shots. That's something he understands and knows it will take time to come back. Whether Celtics fans like it or not, it's likely that improvement on that front will come in baby steps.
It comes with the territory of such an unprecedented occurrence
Tatum's absolutely not immune to criticism, as that's what happens when coming back from something that typically takes well over a year to recover fully. At the same time, this is still such a historic situation Boston is in.
Everyone thought Tatum would take the season off to recover, and many were concerned he would not look like himself ever again, let alone to start, and that he would make himself vulnerable to more injuries if he came back so soon after such a career-changing injury.
Even those who were optimistic were well aware that there would be some growing pains, and those growing pains have definitely shown up. But this is what happens when someone, even as good as Tatum, wants to be back to what he was.
It's already insane enough that he managed to come back period. He definitely has earned himself from grace based on that fact. It may get a little difficult to watch at times as Tatum plays more and more, but there's little reason to lose hope in him so soon.
As painful as it might and likely will be, the only way Boston can get their franchise player back firing on all cylinders is for him to play through his shooting struggles.