While the Celtics impress in his absence, Jayson Tatum appears to be steadily progressing in his rehab.
On Tuesday, the recovering Boston star posted a series of Instagram videos showing him playing 1-on-1 against Celtics assistant coach Tony Dobbins.
Tatum resumed on-court work months ago, but this was the first public look at him participating in pseudo-competitive drills since he ruptured his Achilles in a playoff game against the New York Knicks on May 12. The videos showed him attempting a variety of shot types against Dobbins, from driving layups to midrange pull-ups to stepback 3-pointers.
The pair could be seen working through a similar routine when the Celtics opened their court to reporters after Wednesday’s practice.
Neither Tatum nor the Celtics have announced a timeline for his return to game action, but he has made clear that he hopes to return at some point this season. Earlier this week, Tatum posted an Instagram story with the caption “Soon,” followed by a fingers-crossed emoji.
The four-time first-team All-NBA selection has been around the team since before training camp began, rehabbing at the Celtics’ Auerbach Center practice facility and sitting on the bench for most games.
“It’s all up to him,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said Wednesday when asked about a potential Tatum return. “At the end of the day, his health is the most important thing, his process is the most important thing. You trust him, trust the team that’s around him — he’s got a great team — and you just kind of go from there. So kind of just all starts about where him and his team think he’s at.
“To me, the only thing I care about is his presence and his leadership, and he’s given that in different ways — on the bench for games, communicating with guys, in film sessions, traveling with us. At the end of the day, he’s on our team. He’s a part of our team. He’s helping us get better, and then everything else just comes down to him and the people around him, and you just trust that.”
Mazzulla said he won’t try to hold Tatum back from possibly returning too soon, adding: “There’s people above me that are responsible for that.” President of basketball operations Brad Stevens insisted before the season that the team would not consider reactivating its best player until he is 100% healthy.
“The encouraging thing is that he is who he is,” Mazzulla said. “I care more about, obviously, him doing his job. He has a job just like we do. I think it’s harder to rehab than it is to be in the season sometimes because you have to do things at a higher intensity, at a higher pace. So he’s doing that, but I care more about (the fact that) he’s in the team, he’s helping us get better. That’s the most important thing.”
Boston initially struggled without its central superstar, opening the season with three straight losses, but has since surged toward the top of the Eastern Conference standings. The Celtics have won five straight and 10 of their last 12. At 15-9, they entered Wednesday with the third-best record in the East, sitting two games behind the Knicks and four back of the first-place Detroit Pistons.
Led by longtime co-star Jaylen Brown, who is playing at an All-NBA level through 24 games, with support from players like Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Neemias Queta and Jordan Walsh, the Tatum-less Celtics rank second in the league in offensive rating and fifth in both net rating and point differential.
If Boston can maintain its current level and reintegrate Tatum at some point this spring — a return in February or March, which would mean a nine-to-10-month recovery, now seems plausible — it could emerge as one of the top contenders in the wide-open Eastern Conference.
“I mean, it’s not necessarily a thought we’re worried about right now,” Pritchard said. “We’re focused on his recovery. If he comes back and if he comes back healthy and ready to play, we know how to play with him. It’s not like we’re bringing him in to guys he’s never played with. So it’ll be an easy transition. But right now, we’re just focusing on the guys that are playing right now, getting better and putting ourselves in the best position possible.”