Jayson Tatum Achilles injury update and recovery timeline, Jaylen Brown All-NBA, Boston Celtics news, Jayson Tatum Achilles return, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons, Neemias Queta, Joe Mazzulla
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While the Boston Celtics were though to take a gap year, Jaylen Brown's All-NBA play and a new Jayson Tatum injury update signals otherwise.
After franchise star Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, there was an expectation that the Boston Celtics would take this season as a gap year, however, so far, that has clearly not been the case.
The Celtics rank second in net rating and offensive rating, with 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown having the best season of his career, and making it known at the same time.
While this season is no longer a cap year for the Tatum-less Celtics, despite cutting ties with many of their top stars over the offseason in hopes of staying below the luxury tax, thatdoesn’t feel like a reality anymore, and Boston appears to be going all-in this season, with the expectation that Tatum could return relatively soon.
Writing for Bleacher Report, Any Bailey predicts the Celtics will not duck the luxury tax, whichwas previously thought to be the case with the potential of trading Anfernee Simons and a few other players, and instead go ahead and try to compete for a second title in three years with this current roster.
Celtics Predicted To Go All-In Now
Just by listening to one press conference,it’s hard to imagine Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla taking any days off, let alone a full season. But with how well Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Neemias Queta, and the rest of their new-look rotation have played this season, Boston is way closer to title contention than a top lottery pick through the first 11 weeks of this NBA season.
“This no longer feels like a gap year.It’s not close, actually,”Bailey wrote. “The Celtics are within striking distance of theEast’s top seed. And if Jayson Tatum is back before the playoffs, this team could have a realistic shot at another championship.”
Boston is currently 24-14 and third in the East, bouncing back and forth with the New York Knicks for the second spot, and consistently ahead of previously thought title contenders in the Cleveland Cavaliers.While not having their franchise starin Tatum, Brown and the rest of the cast have stepped up to give them a real chance at winning four straight playoff rounds.
Previously, there wasthe presumption that the Celtics would trade Simons and a few others in hopes ofducking the daunting salary cap, but that no longerlooks the case.
“[Over the summer] it almost felt like a foregone conclusion thatthey’d find a way to get under the luxury tax before the deadline,”Bailey added. “But lowering your payroll by just over $12 million in the middle of the season is no small feat. The most obvious candidate for another cost-cutting move, Anfernee Simons, is averaging double figures and shooting an above-average three-point percentage. And most importantly, JaylenBrown’s All-NBA-caliber campaign has completely shifted the perception of this Boston campaign.”
Unfazed Celtics
Anfernee Simons this year:
13.6 PPG 2.3 RPG 2.5 APG 0.5 SPG 0.1 BPG 44.2 FG% 40.9 3FG% 88.1 FT%
Would you keep him or move on from him at the trade deadline?
While on paper this roster might not look like one that would have a better record thana majority of the other teams in the league,they’ve proved everyone wrong.And with the latest injury update on Tatum, the case for them going all-in this year only makes more sense.
Jayson Tatum Achilles Injury Update, Recovery Timeline
While most other players tearing their Achilles tendon in the brutal fashion Tatum did in the Eastern Conference semifinals would almost certainly rule them out for the entire next season,that’s never been the case in Boston.
Sincehe went down, there have been reports, noteven just rumors, that he and the teamwere eyeing a return sometime later this year. In early October, before the season evenstarted, the teamdidn’t rule out a return, and according to Tatum and his camp,that’s always been the goal,just askCeltics superfanBill Simmons.
But now, the latest injury update on Tatum could point to a return sooner than even the Boston diehards could have imagined. According to NBA insider for Sports Illustrated Chris Mannix, Tatum is eyeing a return to basketball activities in February or March.
“All indications out there, and everythingI’ve heard, is thathe’s going to push really hard in February-March to get back out there on the floor, and be there with the team for most of the second half of this season,”Mannix said on a podcast.
There were previously videos posted by Celtics reporters thatsaw Tatum working out inseemingly full fashion, butwith the extent of his Achilles injury,it’s hard to pinpoint how close he actually is togetting back to his previous shape and form.
Tatum reportedly got surgery on his torn Achilles less than 24 hours after the injury occurred against the Knicks, giving Boston the best chance for him to return as soon as possible.But still, if the Celtics were struggling this year, there was a real chance hewould’ve missed the entire season, but that’s clearly not the case anymore.
While Brown is having the best season of his career without Tatum, he might single-handedly be giving up his chance at being the new franchise star by putting his team in a winning situation, or at least enough for the team to bring Tatum back.