BOSTON — Kevin Durant embraced Jayson Tatum after leaving the Rockets locker room on Saturday night after leading Houston to a 128-101 blowout win over the Celtics. The 37-year-old forward still looks to be in prime form six years after rupturing his Achilles in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, scoring a game-high 26 points in the victory.
Tatum is trying to follow in Durant’s footsteps and successfully bounce back from his own Achilles tear suffered in May. His progression so far has impressed Durant who hadn’t hit the same checkmarks as Tatum at the six-month mark.
“I wouldn’t say I felt that confident to dunk the ball,” Durant said of his recovery after six months. “I don’t remember if I was that far along in my journey, but medicine has advanced so much since I had Achilles. Jayson looks like he’s just killing the rehab and he looks great.
“You don’t see a limp, For somebody who just had an Achilles surgery in the playoffs, he looks amazing. Hopefully, continue to progress and he gets better and get back on the court soon. The game misses him, the NBA misses him, just, you know, all world talent, man, so looking forward to have him back on the floor.”
Tatum has talked openly about the fact that he’s targeting a potential return this season, which would have to come within 11 months of suffering the injury. Durant waited 18 months to make his eventual return back in 2020 but he thinks the goal is realistic for Tatum, at least for now.
“I think it’s feasible, but I think, it’s good to have that option on the table to know that he can come back, but it’s such a long ways away from now,” Durant said. “I just feel like he’s just taking it day by day and see what happens with the team, see what happens with his body, make a decision at a later date. It’s cool to keep it open, I guess, to play, and he just loves to play, man. He’s a gamer. I’m sure if he can get out there no matter what the team’s record is, no matter what, he’s gonna get out there to play, so we all can’t wait to see him out there again.”
The Rockets star is busy getting acclimated to his new team in Houston amid a 3-2 start but has reached out to the Celtics star amid his recovery. However, he’s made sure not to disrupt Tatum’s rehab journey.
“That’s one of these experiences you gotta just go through on your own,” Tatum said. “You can get as much advice as you want, but you know it’s just you out there when you rehabbing. You got somebody there telling you what to do, but it’s you out there putting them reps in, so you know, focus on yourself and not try to get too much advice from people just kind of go through it on his own, and that’s what it seems like he’s doing. He’s in a good space.”
The buzz about Tatum’s potential recovery could be in a far different place next time these two teams matchup on in Houston on February 4th.
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