Jayson Tatum Hasn’t Decided Whether He’ll Return This Season From Achilles Injury

The Celtics are tied for second in the East with the Knicks after a loss to the Hawks on Wednesday night dropped Boston to 29-18 on the year. Jaylen Brown has led the Celtics roaring past preseason expectations, most of which pegged Boston as a low seed in a weak East with potential to wind up in the draft lottery. Instead, with less than half the season remaining, the C’s are in good position to secure homecourt advantage for at least one round of the playoffs and have as good a chance as anybody to compete for the conference crown.

All that has led to plenty of speculation about how dangerous the team could be with Jayson Tatum in the fold. The All-NBA forward tore his Achilles last May and his recovery has been smooth thus far. The Celtics still haven’t offered an update or a timeline for him to return to play, but reports have collectively suggested Tatum would push to play this year. However, with an injury this severe, it’s impossible for anyone outside the organization to know how realistic that is, and just about nobody has a clue how Tatum will play when the time to get back on the court does come.

His potential return has become a talking point this week. Tatum went on the Pivot Podcast and told Ryan Clark he’s been thinking about the impact his return will have on the Celtics’ ongoing chemistry and whether he should wait to come back given the roster has a good thing going right now. Then, on Wednesday night, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported the Boston star is “now re-evaluating” the situation and his return is “up in the air,” but no final decision has been made.

All that led to Tatum giving his own thoughts on the matter. A few hours after Haynes’s report he told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne he hasn’t made a decision on whether to return this year because he “wants to get it right the first time, so it's just a lot to think about.”

“Tatum, injured during the playoffs in May, said he has been progressing well in his rehabilitation and is feeling stronger every week, but he's waiting to make a decision because of the severity of the injury,” Shelburne wrote.

It is a tricky balance to strike with a lot of unknowns looming. On the one hand, if Tatum is healthy, getting back on the court as soon as possible theoretically means a return to form as soon as possible. On the other hand, nobody wants to rush the situation; returning before his Achilles is ready could lead to a cascading series of negative side effects. It’s unlikely the Celtics’ record was ever going to factor into his return timeline that heavily but the fact that Boston is considered a contender adds another layer of complication.

In the big picture the Celtics just want Tatum healthy as possible before hitting the court again. But for this season alone, there are a lot of different factors to weigh. It won’t be an easy choice for the superstar or his team, but until he’s medically cleared to get back out there it’s a moot point.

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