The way the Celtics’ season came crashing to an ugly end in the playoffs has overshadowed how well Jayson Tatum’s return from a torn Achilles actually went. All anyone will remember is how he tweaked something in Game 6, sat out Game 7, and watched as Boston blew a 3-1 lead against the 76ers.
But overall, the comeback was a massive success. After barely nine months off, Tatum returned in March and quickly looked pretty close to his old self. In 16 regular-season games, he averaged 21.8 points, 10 rebounds, and 5.3 assists while playing very solid defense and coming up big in some high-leverage moments, even winning a Player of the Week Award for the Eastern Conference.
It was better than one could have possibly expected, and enough to get fans excited about the future and to get rid of any lingering concerns about whether he’d be able to play at a high level again. Not only that, playing for those 16 games and playoff series allowed JT to get his legs under him, to get used to NBA action, and to get over some of his own mental and physical hurdles, which should allow him to hit the ground running this season.
Tatum's confidence is through the roof
Tatum spoke with the media on Thursday and told Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog exactly that.
“When I came back, it was great from a mentality standpoint, just to get over that hurdle of playing, and even if I was at 80% myself, knowing that I could still be effective going into the offseason, knowing that I had the whole summer to get my body right, to get in the rhythm of playing basketball again.
I feel so much more confident from a mental standpoint — and physically.”
That has to be scary to hear for other teams in the Eastern Conference. At 80% of his best self and dealing with mental hurdles, Tatum was still better than most players in the NBA. Now, he has gotten that taste and has proven to himself he can still do this.
Tatum should be ready to hit the ground running this season
He’s had a full offseason to attack everything, and instead of focusing simply on the injury and his return, he has been able to focus on basketball and getting back to leading the Celtics. Other players who suffered the same injury at a similar time, Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton, sat out the entire season.
They’re going to be ready to start the year, but it still feels like they have a lot to prove, and the focus will be on how they look physically and mentally. Tatum has already checked those boxes, and it feels like he’s ready to get back to dominating the NBA and being a top-five player in the league, rather than simply finding out if his body is ready.
It’s great to hear how confident he is and how good he feels, and it has been great to see him taking on a bigger leadership role this summer. JT obviously still has a lot to prove and accomplish, but he’s well on his way to getting there. He’s still insanely ahead of schedule, and it really is starting to feel like he’s poised to have the best all-around season of his career, and we’re about to see the best version of Jayson Tatum.
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