A mid-March matchup against the already-eliminated Washington Wizards isn’t exactly a circle your calendar type of game for Boston Celtics fans. It went how you’d expect it to. The Celtics built a massive lead and coasted to an eventual 111-100 victory.
This day, however, did mark Jayson Tatum’s fourth game since returning from a torn Achilles after 10 months of recovery. Thus far, he’s posted 19.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game on 40% from the field and 27.5% from deep.
“I feel a lot more relaxed,” he said of what’s changed for him since his season debut. “Obviously, the first game was such a big day in that moment… I think now, I'm finding more and more moments each game where I'm feeling more confident, more explosive.”
On Saturday, he pieced together a 20-point, 14-rebound, and seven-assist performance to help lift Boston to a homecoming win. Tatum still hasn’t put together a full, dominant scoring outing, but shows flashes for short stints.
In his debut, he started 0-6 then sank his next five shot attempts. He poured in 12 first-quarter points two days later against the Cavs, went cold in the middle quarters, then scored seven more to help Boston ice it down the stretch. Even in this game, he wasn’t all that involved early, but then caught fire for 11 points in the third quarter on 5-9 shooting.
Whether it’s a conditioning or rhythm thing, perhaps something else, there’s still another level for him to go up. Even so, his impact is still felt. His rebounding numbers are nearly identical to that of last season. It’s a small sample size, but only 0.2 fewer boards per game is a good sign.
Tatum is giving the team a boost outside of scoring
“Just giving the game what it needs,” Joe Mazzulla said of what he’s seen from Tatum on a game-to-game scale. “Just the details, the simple things. Continuing to get in shape. But right now, the most important thing is just giving the game what it needs, on both ends of the floor.”
With the way this year’s Celtics team has performed, if Tatum can give them a floor of “what they need,” then he’ll be an impactful piece of the puzzle. His rebounding alone is a floor raiser for a team that began the year as one of the league’s worst on the glass.
Since then they’ve improved significantly, and the six-time All-Star is only going to ease that along. Not to mention that his literal presence on the floor inherently makes the team better because he’s an added threat for defenses to worry about.
“Having that elite of a player on the perimeter just makes my job easier because a lot of times, if you have to pick and choose who you are going to go against, they’re going to leave me open,” Neemias Queta explained after his 24-point double-double.
Tatum's feeling good enough for an increase in minutes.
From what it sounds like, he’s going to be able to be on the floor more going forward. Saturday marked the first time that Tatum played more than 27 minutes this campaign. After finishing the night with 32, he let on that he’s been feeling good enough to take on more playing time.
“I knew that my minutes would go up a little bit this week,” Tatum told reporters in the locker room. “That's just kind of the progression. I was playing 27 minutes the first three games, they go up a little bit for week or so, see how [I] respond.”
Monitoring Tatum's minutes can be a good barometer for fans who want insight into the physical aspect of his recovery. The message has been clear to this point, so far, so good.