All signs point to Jayson Tatum being ahead of schedule so far this season when it comes to his recovery from a raptured Achilles.
Whether the All-Star forward makes his long awaited return during the 2025-26 campaign or not, that seems to be still "up in the air," according to NBA insider Chris Haynes.
"It is up in the air on if he's going to return at all this season," Haynes said late Wednesday night. "I was told there were a couple of factors of why he's reached that point. But as of right now, that changes the whole landscape because Tatum even told me personally he was returning at some point. He was getting to return and he was getting close. I was hearing he was getting close and league sources told me that the situation has changed."
That report came just days of the Celtics being at the midpoint of the regular season and while Tatum has been seen regularly at team practices, shootarounds and games, the 27-year-old also shed some light on possible reservations he may still have about returning to a roster that has done well without him.
"That's something I contemplate every day," Tatum said on a recent episode of the 'Pivot Podcast' this past week. "More so about the team. If or when I do come back this season, they will have played 50 some-odd games without me, so they have an identity this year or things that they've felt have clicked for them. And it's been successful.
"So there is a thought in my head, like, how does that work? Or how does that look with me integrating myself off the injury … 50, 60 games into a season? There obviously could be some challenges," Tatum added. "And it is a thought: Do I come back? Should I wait? It's something that I honestly, recently, in the last two weeks or so just kind of contemplate every single day."
Despite Tatum's candid interview and or Haynes' report about the veteran's possible return to the current 30-18 Celtics (tied for second-best record in the Eastern Conference), coach Joe Mazzulla made it clear that whatever the decision is to play or sit out the remainder of the season -- Tatum's rehab routine has not changed at all in the last few weeks.
"The mindset has been relatively consistent (and) where it has been the entire season," Mazzulla said Thursday during his weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub of Tatum's approach. "We don't know yet. It was never a yes, it was never a no."It was, 'Let's work as hard as you can, trusting the sports science team, trusting his development, whether it's in the weight room, on the training table, and then put yourself in the best possible position to be as healthy as you can be, and then reevaluate it."
Mazzulla also stated that if Tatum is having any second guesses about re-joining his teammates this season, it isn't due to anything physical as he continues his recovery process.
"There's been zero setback," Mazzulla said of Tatum. "He's progressing naturally."
When it comes to the mental aspect of any concerns regarding how Tatum would fit on this current Celtics team that has seen a overhaul of changes to make a deep playoff run, Mazzulla said there shouldn't be any surprise that the star player is showing any sort of hesitation to make a return and contribute right away.
"I look at disruption as a positive," Mazzulla said. "He'll come back and just make us better. I think it's two things. One, I think as you go through an injury and a process like this, a thousand things are going to come up. And I think one of the greatest things about a guy like Jayson is his openness and his vulnerability and his honesty about where he's at as a player and a person. So, I think you have to reward that, and those are just natural things."But the second piece is, he knows that if we get him back, we're just going to be a better team, and there's just no ifs, ands or buts about that. He should never be worried about disrupting in a negative way, but he'll be disrupting in a positive way because he'll just make us better on both ends of the floor and already add to what we've been able to build here this season."
Mazzulla spoke to the media Friday prior to the Celtics 112-93 victory over the Kings and re-iterated that there is no rush for Tatum to make a return this season or wait until the start of the 2026-27 campaign and rather it's just important that any decision made he's comfortable with, as they are "always having conversations everyday about where he's at physically and mentally."
"The most important thing is making sure he continues to get better in his rehab process," Mazzulla said during his pre-game comments. "He's doing a great job of hitting his marks in the weight room, doing a great job of hitting his marks in strength of conditioning and his physical therapy, and that's the biggest thing. He's been with us the whole year. He's been on the road, been on the bench, been in film sessions, been at practices. The most important thing is he just continues to chip away at that and get as healthy as he can."
As far as his teammates and their thoughts on Tatum making a return this season, he would be welcomed back into the fold whenever that may be and they'll leave that up to him whether that be soon prior to the playoffs or until the start of training camp in October.
"If he is going to return, we're welcoming him with open arms," Sam Hauser said in his postgame comments Wednesday. "I mean, such a great player, and any time you can have the luxury of adding a player like that to your rotation, it's pretty exciting. So whatever his timetable is, it's kind of up to him. We're trying to focus on every day and then try to win as many games before he does come back, if he ends up coming back. So if that's the case, we can't wait."
Meanwhile, Payton Pritchard dismissed the notion that there would be any concerns of playing with Tatum if he decides to return to the Celtics lineup, especially this season.
"No, because we played with him before, so it's not like some player that got hurt and we never played with before, so we know what he's likes and how he plays and we can play off him," Pritchard told reporters Friday night after dropping 29 points and eight assists.
The Celtics are already considered as somewhat contenders in a weak Eastern Conference, but if Tatum returns in any sort of capacity this season they could be viewed as even more serious contenders to win the East come the postseason.
No comments:
Post a Comment