Celtics two-way guard Ron Harper Jr. is enjoying his first NBA All-Star Weekend experience in Los Angeles, as he just played in the Rising Stars Challenge for the G League squad Friday night.
While Harper Jr.'s team loss on a final jumper scored by his brother Dylan Harper, who he was guarding when he took the shot, it's what was said by the Celtics guard hours prior that had the Intuit Dome buzzing when speaking on Jayson Tatum's performance during practice with the Maine Celtics this past week.
In an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio, Harper Jr. shared that Tatum played like himself during the practice session with the C's G League affiliate on Monday.
"He looked like Jayson Tatum," Harper said. "I'll say that much."
Harper, who participated in that very practice along with Hugo Gonzalez and Amari Williams, teased a potential Tatum return with a big smile, but wouldn't comment on if the Celtics star is definitely returning this season or next, as he continues to recover from a torn Achilles he suffered last May.
"We're real excited," Harper said. "We've got this jokester sitting down, but we're real excited about the potential of him coming back. We don't know for sure if [he is] or not going to come back. But we're just real excited to see him progress during his rehab."
Tatum's practice with the Maine Celtics only led to more speculation that he's close to making a return this season. But Tatum, who spoke to the media Tuesday for the first time since October, didn't want people to read too much into his practice.
"I'm feeling good," Tatum told reporters Tuesday. "It was good to be a part of practice yesterday with the Maine G League guys. Today is 39 weeks, so it's been a long journey. And it's just like the progression of rehab. It was the next step. It doesn't mean that I'm coming back or I'm not. It's just following the plan. So it's just another step."
The status for Tatum hasn't changed when it comes to the Celtics injury report before every game and they also haven't given a timeline on a possible return, leaving the decision up to him if cleared to play and come back this season or not.
Last week, per a Shams Charania report, Tatum has played five-on-five scrimmages with the Celtics coaches and according to former NBA guard Lou Williams, typically when a player practices with a team's G League affiliate it's a sign that their return is coming sooner rather than later.
"If he's about to play five-on-five, that tells me we're four weeks out", Williams said.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown continues to hold down the fort, as Celtics have the Eastern Conference's second best record at 35-19. They're set to head out west on a four-game road trip following the All-Star break.
Joel Pavón
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