Celtics Mailbag: Jayson Tatum's return, Jaylen Brown's MVP Case, Baylor Scheierman's progress

I’ll be doing regular Q&As here on SI and on my Locked On Celtics podcast. You can submit questions at JohnKaralis.com/mailbag, and those questions will be answered in one of those two places. Today’s mailbag will answer questions about Jayson Tatum's return (or maybe non-return), Baylor Scheierman’s progress, and Jaylen Brown’s MVP case.

Questions may be edited for clarity and length.

There's been some lot of talk about Tatum sitting out the rest of the year. How would Tatum be able to decide that he sits out if deemed healthy? - Chris T

First of all, I don’t believe he should sit out the rest of the year if he’s actually 100% healthy. Even if he’s just coming back to essentially continue his rehab and get a taste of NBA action again, he should do it.

The last thing I want is for Tatum’s first NBA basketball to be at the beginning of next season. That's an element people don’t really think about. NBA basketball is different from scrimmages and any five-on-five games he can scrape together. The adrenaline is different. The physicality is different. He needs to experience that again, feel that soreness, and work through it. Even one month of that is important on this end of the rehab process.

Once he experiences that, he can figure out where he truly is physically and mentally, and then head into the summer with a clear picture of what he needs to do.

The only way for Tatum to sit out is to declare he’s not ready. All he has to do is say “I don’t feel right,” and he won’t come back. Even if he goes through all the steps and is medically cleared, if he says “I don’t feel right,” then he won’t play. His mental health has to be 100% as well.

You're Joe Mazzulla and your All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum is coming back. The coming off the bench/minutes restriction thing is no big deal to figure out. What you're really worried about is convincing Tatum to fit into the flow of the offense and reduce the less desirable parts of his offense. What's your strategy? - Bob Q

I assume this means some of the ball-stopping and isolation.

There are some things you’re just not going to stop. Tatum feeling like he can bust a mismatch is going to lead to some isolation. This is what superstar players do.

But it can be reduced by some play-calling that starts him off the ball. Simple pin-downs that get him the ball on the move can work.

Also, Tatum is a pretty smart guy. He sees how things are going. He’s not going to walk in and say “let’s change everything mid-stream.” It’s like joining someone in double-dutch, you have to find a way to jump in and seamlessly be part of the team.

So it’ll be a mix of things. Tatum still has to be himself, but he’s not going to be disruptive about it, either.

I recall many podcasts ago this season you said this current Celtics team “is not a Jayson Tatum away from being a championship team”. The Celtics are currently 2nd in the East. What’s your stance now if Tatum comes back? Do you think the Celtics can make a run? - Rohan P

If I said that, it was way back at the beginning of the season before I saw a Neemias Queta proof of concept.

Let’s face it, this team is getting so many performances that would have been considered outliers over the summer. Queta leads the way there, proving to be a starting-quality center just a year after he was unplayable in some games. His improvement has exceeded normal expectations.

Then you throw in progress from Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh becoming a part of the rotation, Hugo Gonzalez proving to be playable as a rookie, and even Ron Harper Jr. rising to become a contributor, and the role players have given the remaining star players a ton more support than most people expected.

Also, the East is a bit different than expected. The Cavs and Knicks aren’t as good as I thought they’d be. The Magic haven't taken any kind of leap. And other potential challengers have all suffered worst-case scenarios.

So yes, my stance has changed now. Detroit still poses a tough challenge, and there's is the matter of getting through the Western Conference submission to the equation, but adding Tatum certainly elevates Boston to the realm of contenders, provided he can get to some semblance of his normal self.

All he needs to be is about 75% of what he normally is and he’ll make Boston a serious threat.

What is your take on Baylor Scheierman's progress this season? I sort of think he came into the season with an idea of the kind of player he wanted to be, and then he realized that Joe Mazzulla had a different idea, and he adapted to it. I would not have guessed that he would become a guy Joe went to for defense.

Me neither. But he has good size and strength, so he’s been able to step in nicely.

I’ll borrow some stats from my recent piece on Scheierman.

Against Phoenix, Scheierman spent 4:09 guarding Jalen Green over nearly 20 possessions. Green scored three points in that time, on 1-5 shooting. Spent another nearly four minutes picking up Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, and Ryan Dunn, who combined to score four points.

He drew the Luka Doncic assignment against the Lakers, guarding an MVP candidate for more than seven minutes. Doncic shot 3-8 and scored seven points. He only had one assist in that time. In fact, the tracking data had him guarding 13 Lakers that night, and they combined for four points.

Ten Golden State Warriors scored nine combined points against Scheierman. He has been a defensive madman on this road trip. And it all starts with preparation with the coaching staff.

He was effective against the Nuggets, too. Denver players only scored six points when being directly guarded by Scheierman, and three of them were on a Nikola Jokic three-pointer.

I think he’s toned down some of the moments when he is feeling himself a little too much, understanding that this isn’t the Scheierman show. He’s either out there to do a certain job, or he won’t be out there at all.

Once he got that mental part down, the rest started to click. If he wants playing time, this is how he’s going to get it. He has accepted that right now, and he’s thriving because of it.

If you get three games to make the Jaylen Brown MVP case, which games do you choose up to this point in the season? - Tim D

I’ll start with the 50-piece against the Clippers. We need a big scoring night to prove to the voters what he’s capable off. It was also a very on-brand performance after he was snubbed for December Player of the Month. He also checked Kawhi Leonard in that game, making it an incredible two-way performance. It was a masterpiece on both ends of the floor.

Then I’ll go with the win over the Knicks on December 2. He scored 42, but he showed poise at the end to draw double-teams, move the ball, and trust his team to finish the game. I want people to see he can read the game and open things up for his teammates. This isn’t just a scoring thing, even though he dropped a monster number.

And then how about November 29 against the Timberwolves, which was a loss, but was also a game where he put up 41 points, six rebounds, seven assists, and five steals, which is a combination of statistics that has never happened before in Celtics history. That kind of line needs to be appreciated.