As the ramp-up intensifies for Jayson Tatum, everyone and their cousin has some take, prediction, speculation, or conspiracy theory on when he’ll return to play for the Celtics. He ruptured his achilles back in May, immediately went under the knife, and has seemingly been aggressively rehabbing around the clock ever since.
He’s progressed to 5-on-5 scrimmaging and practicing with the Maine Celtics, and he announced a mini docuseries on NBC chronicling his recovery. All signs are pointing to a comeback, and possibly very soon, but we still haven’t heard anything definitive.
Some have expressed optimism, some have expressed caution, and some have expressed some combination. It seems clear that JT is doing everything in his power to play, and when he feels 100% ready, he’ll be on the court. But the human body and mind are fickle, and progress and recovery aren’t linear processes.
As Celtics fans, we can all hope for the best and remain cautiously optimistic, but it truly sounds like even Tatum himself doesn’t know when, or if, he’ll come back at all this season.
But not everyone is completely convinced of that. On the latest episode of the Kevin O’Connor Show for Yahoo! Sports, KOC and his guest, Claire De Lune of the Guardian, were discussing the Celtics and their chances going forward.
KOC brushes off Tatum return question like it's a given
Claire started to posit something about JT, starting her question, “Also, with the Tatum thing…are we positive-” at which point, KOC cut her off, almost scoffing, and confidently replied, “Yeah, he’ll be back.” Her full question wasn’t going to be about him coming back, but whether they’re positive that his return would be additive with how well Jaylen Brown has played.
But that narrative aside, it’s noteworthy how much KOC appears to be talking bout Tatum’s return this season as a certainty. He didn’t even wait to hear the question before instinctively assuring his guest that JT would play. O’Connor is obviously well-connected in the NBA and also notably has a history with the Celtics, growing up in Boston, a big fan of the team, starting his career at Celtics Blog, and now moving back to the Boston area.
Nobody in the media seems especially plugged into this Celtics team that keeps everything tight as can be. And that goes especially for members of the national media, of which KOC now belongs. But still, he likely has some sources around the team, and whether anything is planned or official, he should have a good idea of which way the leaves are blowing.
Take this with a grain of salt for sure, but O’Connor’s supreme confidence he displayed in ensuring that Tatum is going to return this season should be music to the ears of Celtics fans everywhere.