Jayson Tatum Returns 10 Months After Achilles Tear

The breaking news, just before we started recording, Jayson Tatum is officially questionable for Friday's game against Dallas, but we all know where that's going.

Um, I was in the building on Wednesday night at the Garden and Pun not intended cause they were playing the Hornets.

The buzz was building for a Tatum return on Friday.

I think there's a chance we see some t-shirts that are around the arena.

There will be a celebratory mood for Jayson Tatum playing just under 10 months after tearing his Achilles in a 2nd-round playoff game against the New York Knicks.

As I mentioned, you are friends with JT.

Like, how are you feeling now that, uh, you know, he's about to come back.

Man, I'm, I'm waiting for him to text me back.

He, he texted me earlier like uh he quoted me, piss or get off the pot.

And it was like ET and I was like, oh, exactly , are you coming back?

And then he never texted me back again.

So that was like at 11:30 this morning.

So I'm finding out now that, that it's official.

I'm excited, bro.

I'm super excited.

I know um.

I know he's ready.

I know he's in a good uh position, and then when it comes down to just basketball overall, I think What you do this year, like the, the momentum you bring is only going to fare well for like the long term journey.

And I think uh one thing that he's able to do that most players can't.

You know, God willing, can't foresee, it's like be like, hey, this is, I got a 10-year journey over somebody like myself.

I'll be like, hey, I got like maybe 18 months and I'm gonna have to go back to the drawing board.

I think this is all just like a bigger play for his legacy, him being able to uh get his Achilles right and get right back to, um, you know, the, the, the Celtics get back to jumping in their dynasty, you know.

Nothing's slowed down at this moment.

Um, you know, last year they, he got hurt, the year before that, you know what I mean, they won the championship and now they're the 2nd best team in the East, and they, they have a lot of, uh, quote unquote, unproven players that are proving themselves and developing at the right time and, you know, he doesn't have to wait to be like, maybe we get a trade or get here, they, they're building it up now and that camaraderie is going to mold well.

So, uh, a couple of things I wanna unpack with you.

Uh , one is the why, and you addressed some of that there about why he's coming back.

This is typically a one-year type of injury.

Um, when a guy is injured in the time frame that Jayson Tatum was injured, which was May of last year.

More often than not, 90+% of the time, the player misses the rest of the following season.

And we're seeing that in very recent examples.

We've got Damian Lillard, who was hurt a few weeks before Jayson Tatum, uh, Tyrese Halliburton, who's hurt a few weeks after Jayson Tatum.

Both of those guys were ruled out for the season, basically right away.

They were not going to come back.

Jayson Tatum .

Really from the moment he started talking about the injury, which is in the preseason, we did a whole bunch of interviews, has never ruled him out for himself out for the season, has always had that date circled on the calendar, and I'm, I'm thinking that was probably March 1st.

Like that day was probably originally the first of March that he was trying to get back.

Why do you think It was so important for him for to come back, because nobody would have begrudged him taking the full season off, getting his body right, he's still in his twenties, he's got a long runway of a career.

Why do you think for Tatum, it was so important to get back this season?

I think he really loves the game.

I think he really loves the hoop, even like the one year that I coached him or being around him.

It's like damn, you, you're gonna go do more basketball stuff.

Like I think he really misses and like you have like basketball players and you have hoopers and I just think it's in his system, you know, I think that's 100% because he could have been shut it down.

I think another thing too, I go back to that journey situation.

I remember being around and hearing that March was going to be in a conversation just to get Get his feet under him and you know what I mean, allow him to keep playing and I think there's a bigger picture notion regardless whether we thought so.

Nobody foreseeing the Celtics being involved, you know, 2nd in the east or whatever else.

But last year I felt like the conversation was going to be, he was coming back in March regardless.

That's what I was understood, you know what I mean?

So I think where that Came down to it, it was like, hey, I, I just want to get some rhythm and like coming back and being like, wait, we're contenders.

I think that's why this looks so crazy if you think about it.

No matter what as players, as hoopers, you've heard tons of people that, that have gotten injured, they feel like it's taken a few months to get their legs under them and come back and sometimes you shake that cobweb out, especially when you're not, I, I think everybody's waiting for him to come back and average 30.

I'm not expecting him to average 30, I'm expecting him to average.

20 points fit in the flow of, of the game until he gets his legs under him and then once maybe May and June occurs, then you can start talking about picking up the reps or maybe looking at the old Tatum, but he has a perfect team right now to come back in, fit in, blend in, use his talent.

And then also too, I think that's a perk when you have, you know, your, your, your bat, you're, you're Robin, handling the, the business.

You got Jalen Brown kind of handling some of that ISO stuff up until he gets his legs under him.

But no matter what, the, you're going to have to have some training wheels on at a certain point and then eventually take it off.

But one thing I do know about like Tatum is he's a savant.

Like I talked to him one time, I said, hey bro, don't second guess this.

This is your gift, this is what you do.

If I tore my Achilles, I sit out.

And Chris, if you tore your Achilles, you sit out.

Like God gave certain people gifts and it ain't got nothing to do with us.

Like, and I, I remember talking to him just being like, hey.

Second guess on if you want to get married.

Second guess on if you want a white or black Rolls-Royce.

This hoop shit, you've been doing it since you were a kid.

Don't ever second guess that.

This is, this is what you do.

And, and cer certain people got touched and God touched them twice and He works really hard with that.

So I, I, I, it don't knock me, and this, this is who he is.

He's Kobe-esque.

He, he, he makes you believe in something you can't do.

This is, this is his legacy, much like Dame Lillard, much like the Halliburton and the greats.

Some, sometimes they ain't got shit to do with us.

Yeah, and I think the state of the Celtics and where they are has a lot to do with this decision to come back.

Like the Celtics are 41 and 21.

If they were 21 and 41, we wouldn't be seeing Jayson Tatum play.

Not because he wouldn't want to, not because he wasn't ready.

But if the Celtics were 21 and 41, they'd be saying, hey, we gotta get a good draft pick.

We don't need you back.

You, you gotta sit this out.

They'd pulled the Kyrie.

I mean, Kyrie is probably able to physically play this season, but because the Mavericks are in full tank mode, then, you know, there's no reason to bring him back and Have him, you know, try to play a little bit too early.

I think the fact that the Celtics are the #2 seed, are 20 games over 500 is a variable in all this.

Uh, the, the expectations, and you touched on this a little bit too, you know, he's not gonna be the 30 points per game guy.

He's not gonna play 36 minutes per game.

He's not gonna put up 20 shots per game.

But what are, in your opinion, reasonable expectations for Jayson Tatum over the final five-ish weeks of this regular season?

I said this not too long ago.

I said at at the very least, uh, At the very least he's a good, he, he's a prime Chris Middleton.

That's what I believe.

And what's the prime is Chris Middleton, like 1819 points good enough to help a team to operate from a certain spot of the.

Yeah, I hope you get to win a championship and operate from a certain spot of the floor.

He has, some go to moves that are just unstoppable at the very least, he's gonna throw that bad boy in the rim.

Like this, this, this is the same dude that got 50 points 3 times in a month.

So I think at the very least, You know, I, I think if you, even if you had like a 3rd option type of vibe, it'd be an impactful 18 or 19, but you know, you know, killers wake up when it's crunch time too.

So we got to mark that in as well.

So I, I see something as well as that.

I don't know if his rebounding be as great right away, but I think he's so long athletically, I think he'd be pretty good defensively if he's just closing out, playing in the right situations.

But I think, uh, No matter what, when he's on the court, the, the trajectory of the court is going to change because you're always gonna have to worry about him being a threat.

And if he sees one go in, what injury?

Like if you think about it, like if, if, if he feels good one time, like, I feel like it's just gonna go , you know, on a good roll, but I can see around like 18 or 20 depending on how many, you know, games he plays, but I just think he's that good of a scorer and that good of a shooter.

Wow, if he averages.

Between 18 and 20 coming off an Achilles tear, that would be one of the great comebacks in modern medical history to get back to me.

Let me say 18 or 20 in a sense of real games.

My fault, not like I'm not talking about like we go play Sacramento, he plays, I'm talking about like in, in, in, in real, real hooping, like, you know what I mean?

Like say playoffs hit like a couple series, my fault for not like every single game coming out.

I is that wrong for saying I'm talking about like versus those big boys.

I think you could call on him for that.

Even then, even then that would be, look, these injuries.

Are probably the scariest injury that any NBA player has to deal with.

Would you agree with that?

The Achilles tear is probably number one on the list.

Like that's, that's right there, because yeah, just walking, I mean, just going up the stairs, and it's like, it's one of those things where you, you, you get more nervous perhaps about it happening again, like because it's, it, it happens on those weird like the knee injuries.

They tend to happen on falls, right?

Like a guy comes down, you twist your knee.

Oh my God, I tore my ACL.

We see that happen all the time like the Achilles tears.

They don't happen that way.

Like Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles because he stepped one way to, in, in an awkward direction and it snapped.

Tyrese Halliburton, same thing, trying to get a push off a busted calf, tore it up.

Damian Lillard, same type of situation.

These are basic everyday plays that You know, I think there's a mental part, mental hurdle that you've got to get over when you get out there on the floor, and no amount of 5 on 5 is going to, you know, prepare you for that.

No amount of one on one is going to prepare you for that.

Um, there's gonna be a minutes restriction on Tatum.

We know that.

I would imagine, and I'm just guessing.

At this point it's around 20-ish to start right off the bat.

I mean, Giannis was dealing with that coming back from his calf strain.

I would imagine Tatum's on that same type of of restriction, but you're right, he's a bucket, man.

He's a scorer and having him out there on the floor is going for 20+ minutes is only going to enhance what this Celtics team is looking to do, and it's only gonna make them that much more dangerous offensively, so.

I, I, yeah, I, I think expectations, I'd probably go a little, I'd probably say 12 to 15 points per game given the minutes restriction that he's got, and then we'll see, we'll see how he feels come playoff time.

And I'll say this, I mean, look who's averaging 12 or 15 on that team.

No disrespect to them, but I think Tatum is gonna get him like my man Neimus Katas damn near averaged a double-double.

Shout out to, to, to Cada, but like I think Tatum might be able to get.

You know, 3 or 4 more shots than him, you feel me?

Yeah, I do.

Um, so I stepped in it the other day.

When I was asked on another show about how Tatum would fit back in with his team.

And I said something to the effect of Jayson Tatum knows it's, he's coming back to Jalen Brown's team.

And of course that was the that's OD that was took me off camera.

That was, I know, I know, I know, and I, well, I didn't mean it call you, no, but I, it was viral.

I stepped in it, and I knew the second I said it, I stepped into it.

I didn't mean Jalen Brown has taken over this team.

Of course that's not true.

When Jayson Tatum is 100%, he's still the alpha.

It's still.

He's still the guy that is the number 1 on that team.

He's still the franchise player.

1000.

He's a big dog.

He's the big dog.

But my point was, he's stepping into a different team , right?

Like he's not just stepping back into a team, going into training camp, and, you know, getting ready to play the same type of way they played before.

This team plays a little bit differently.

This team has Some new pieces, some new faces on this roster.

And this team does have Jalen Brown, who is having an MVP caliber season.

Like Jalen Brown is leading the NBA in shot attempts this year, right around 22 attempts per game.

He is, I, I think , in the top 5 or top 6 at the worst in the MVP balloting.

I think he's probably gonna wind up in that Jayson Tatum spot on the all NBA first team.

Like he's having an outstanding year.

And when I say he's stepping into a different team and that he's trying to, gonna have to find a way to fit in.

I'm really just echoing what he said, right?

Like Jayson Tatum was the one that was out there saying, I'm a little worried about like disrupting the chemistry of this team.

Whether how he meant it or whatever.

That's what he said on that podcast, uh, about a month or so ago.

So, like, what about the fit?

Like, how do you think Tatum coming back?

Changes things for Boston.

Is it all positive, or do you think there's going to be any kind of growing pains for a player of this caliber kind of stepping back into a lesser role in this team?

I think the first couple of weeks, like minutes restrictions, everything else is, is understood.

Like, you know what I mean?

I think he might struggle with that because obviously, you have to comprehend of giving your, when you strive for such a high level, you have to give yourself time as well and patience.

And I think the hardest part for him is going to be like, hey, 20 minutes, I've never averaged 1213 points in a quarter, yet, yet alone a game, you know what I mean?

So I think that might be the hardest part.

I think the Celtics, after being around them and knowing them.

They know who the alpha is.

I think they are very excited to have Jason back.

I think they know what it means for him to be on the court with them and I just think usually if there was an immature group or something like that, it would be hard for people to join together, but I, I'm also just set in this situation where I know like, hey, the big dog is back.

We're going to try to figure it out, but he is priority to get settled.

I don't think there's anybody around being like, damn, I got to adjust my game because he's back.

You know what I mean?

Like, well, let me ask you this though, um, because it's not just someone like me or I, I saw ESPN talking about it like all day on Thursday.

This was like a, a Jalen or Jason's team.

That's not a thing like it's not in the show.

It's more about how he fits in.

Coming off an injury with this new group, but I did see, you know, Carmelo Anthony on his podcast.

I was watching some clips of that during the day, and Carmelo Anthony said it's going to be on Jayson Tatum to come in and make the necessary sacrifices, that it is Jalen Brown running the show this year.

Like he's stepped into that alpha role.

And is doing a lot of those Jason Tatum types of things.

Is there going to be an element of sacrifice needed from Jason Tatum as he comes back into this mix?

Yeah, I, I definitely think so.

I mean, it's, it's going to be an all-around thing.

I don't think in the 1st or 2nd or a couple of games, he's going to be able to, to You know, close out certain games or maybe even be in at the end of the games, you know.

I think who gets the last shot right now or whatever else.

I, I think that's a small conversation to really be had more so than approaching it in a grateful situation.

This is the best situation possible.

They traded off the most.

Expensive team in history.

We're supposed to be on a tank, tank slide, thought everybody's gonna be terrible.

A bunch of unproven players have showed up and your Robin has held the fort down.

It's like a mob boss going in, and you're coming back out and being like, yo, all our stuff is still here.

Like when I talked to Tatum, I'm like, hey, don't stop with all that nice shit, I fit in shit, da da da da da.

This is your time, Boston is your shit.

And this is your team and it's a team atmosphere.

When you come out, come out like a mob boss talking about yo, y'all held it down.

I'm up, just let, let me get my breath under me and we Gucci.

That's, that's literally how this thing should be because at the end of the day, I think there's only certain organizations that are stepping up to, that want to win and be part of this thing for , you know, the rest of the 20s or 30s or take advantage of it.

I think everybody in that culture, in that organization, even down to your brother, are locked in.

To, you know, what's next in the championship banner.

I just, I just think that's the mindset over there.

If they were losers, we'd be talking about them, them battling for a lottery pick and hoping the dance came home, you know what I'm saying?

I, I just think these are champion, championship individuals and I, and I, I just think, man, they, they already went through a hurdle of uh You know, defeat in 20, you know, in 2022 and so on, and, and I just think they, they're taking in a different spot.

And I think Jason just needs to be, he's gonna show up grateful for how his team is and he doesn't have to do too much because coming back and people expecting you to put up 28 would probably tear his Achilles again, you know what I'm saying?

Look, and I think Jalen Brown.

is going to welcome Jayson Tatum back.

I think Jalen Brown understands that the best chance this team has of winning a championship.

Is getting whatever you can get out of Jayson Tatum down the stretch and in the playoffs.

I mean, Jalen has been outstanding this year, like brilliant from start to finish.

And this team's offensive rating being what it is, is one of the most remarkable accomplishments I've seen given what they've lost, not just Tatum, but Al Horford, Drew Holiday, like the, the pieces that have been stripped away and they're still playing offense at a high level.

But you know, I, I was at the game on Wednesday.

Um, I was watching the game on Sunday.

Jalen Brown sat out the game on Monday to rest.

Like he's played a lot of minutes, he's logged a lot of miles.

You think he's not gonna welcome back a guy that can get a bucket, and it's not gonna be like in isolation situations all on him.

Like, I think he's gonna, I think he's gonna, I think he's thrilled to get Jayson Tatum back into the mix.

Or even real attention.

I'm just talking about just real attention like being like, hey bro, I'm getting tired of shooting pull-up jumpers with 3 people around me.

Just give me a little bit more space so I can go back to my right hand.

So I'm into it, bro.

I, I, I think they're gonna come back the right, the right way, and, and the whole thing is being like, hey, we got bigger fish to fry.

So it ain't about who team it is in Boston.

It's about going up against New York, going up against Detroit.

You know, keeping that supremacy and that reign in the Eastern Conference and that fear up as well.

All right, I'm glad you said that because to put a button on all this, Tatum's coming back.

Um, you got about 5 weeks to go.

If he comes back, has a good ramp up, looks like 75, 80% of what he was.

Is there a team in the Eastern Conference that you would pick to beat Boston in the playoffs?

No, not at all.

Um, I wanna give Detroit.

Their credit because obviously they played well this whole year.

I think they're, they're, they're pretty tough in general.

I just I think when it comes down to toughness and you got to mix in toughness with skill, Boston's as tough as you get.

Like Boston's as tough as you get, and when it comes down to experience, you can just never go against experience.

Like, you know what I mean, like big game experience.

Like your top 4 has been in multiple championship runs, you know what I mean?

So I, I, I, I don't see a team really beating them unless, um, you know, your boys in Charlotte stay hot.

What about you, Charlotte?

I'm Dave.

I'm writing about them on Friday.

I'm doing, I'm, I'm loving my boys in Charlotte.

Let's, let's pivot them.

I, I'm with you on this one.

I would.

I would take the Celtics with a healthy Jayson Tatum to beat everybody in the Eastern Conference.

I, I, I'm with you on Detroit.

I've been writing about them for a while, um, but the lack of shooting concerns me a bit in the postseason.

Uh, the Knicks, even in defeat, they look pretty good against Oklahoma City, but they've been a mixed bag, um, you know, hardened with the Cavs.

How's that hand injury gonna play itself out?

I, I take the Celtics.

And, and, and correct me if I'm wrong, it seems like now.

The focal point, it seems like you're starting to see like where the, the Pistons will fall.

They would have to need Cade to be like a super superstar because it's so little shooting.

Like certain nights you see where he's shooting bad now it's like damn, like he had to go 5 for 25, but you know what I'm saying?

Like they, they need some unexpected shot makers there too, um, in a playoff game.