Returning to game action after an extended layoff due to an Achilles tear hasn’t been especially easy for Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
Tatum has played eight games for the Celtics since his return, and though there’s been some flashes, he hasn’t yet looked like the player who finished in the top six in MVP voting in each of the past four seasons.
Tatum’s counting stats – including minutes per game – are down across the board, which is to be expected, but the six-time All-Star is trying to balance patience with the desire to return to his old self.
"I mean, I ain’t know how this [expletive] was going to be. I mean, it’s tough. In the moment, you try not to think about it, you just want to be Jayson Tatum and feel like yourself again,” Tatum said, via the Boston Globe.
“I’m not Superman, so it’s obviously going to take some time. I think the next day I can give myself a little more grace over certain things, but in the moment, I mean, it’s frustrating."
At this point Tatum is still trying to build momentum and stack good moments.
"I mean, it’s just been a long time. It was a long time before I could shoot a basketball, before I could walk. So just trying to knock the rust off game by game," Tatum said. "I find great spurts and moments from game to game and, you know, just trying to put more of them together."
Right now, patience should be the name of the game for Tatum. He obviously wants to get back to full form, but there was doubt that he would even play at all this season, and after a serious Achilles injury, he might not start feeling and looking like his prime self until next season.
In the meantime though, he can still serve a critical role for a Celtics team that has a real chance to come out of the Eastern Conference. Plus, there’s still almost a month until postseason play, and Tatum could take some major strides in that time.
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