Through the first 35 games of their “gap year,” the Boston Celtics sit second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 23-12. They’ve won eight of their last nine, 18 of their last 23, and seem to be evolving as the weeks go on.
This edition of the Celtics is awesome. Jaylen Brown has played unbelievable basketball, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard are looking more and more comfortable in their expanded roles, and most of the new guys look to be great fits in Boston.
With all of these things in mind, it’s tough to imagine what the ceiling for this team could be if Jayson Tatum returns from the ruptured Achilles he sustained last May. It’s now been just under eight months since his initial injury, which is right around the initial timetable Tatum’s father shared in the days following his surgery.
During a recent episode of The Lowe Post, Zach Lowe shared his optimistic prediction for the superstar’s return to action.
“I think Tatum’s coming back this season,” Lowe told Fred Katz. “I don’t know what that means for the Celtics. I don’t know how that looks. I don’t know if he immediately wants to step back into being Jayson Tatum, and if so, what that does to the team, instead of being a secondary guy and feeling his way back in. It can’t hurt.”
Of course, Lowe doesn’t claim to have any inside information here, but he is relatively tied into the behind-the-scenes of the NBA. Maybe he knows something, maybe he doesn’t.
What does a Tatum return look like?
Regardless, as Tatum has progressed through his rehabilitation process, it’s started to feel more and more like Celtics fans would see him back this season.
Oddly enough, it’s been about a month since JT shared any new footage from one of his workouts. The star forward sporadically dropped minor updates about his recovery through the final quarter of 2025.
Before the season started, he went on a media tour telling literally everybody that he hadn’t ruled out a return in the 2025-26 campaign.
The lack of buzz lately actually makes it feel like we’re all due to learn something soon. Whether it be big or small, it just feels like something’s coming.
To Lowe’s point, though, we really don’t know what to expect from Tatum whenever he actually gets back onto the court. Sure, eventually you’d hope he can get back to the level he was at prior to the injury.
But, what about immediately?
How can he help the Celtics while he gets his sea legs back?
Honestly, it feels like the absolute floor for Tatum would be a solid two-way role player, which sounds pretty crazy to say. Think about it, though. Can he give you at least what you’d expect from Jordan Walsh, who’s had an impressive start to the year?
Yeah, probably.
So if he’s willing to take on a smaller role until his conditioning and feel for the game completely return, then great. From what we all know about Tatum and his commitment to winning, he probably will do whatever he can to give them an edge on a nightly basis.
For now, as has been the case for the last eight months, all we can do is wait and see.