Jayson Tatum Set For Return to Site of Gruesome Injury
It's borderline miraculous that Jayson Tatum is playing right now. About 11 months ago, he suffered a torn Achilles tendon at Madison Square Garden. It came during a crushing Boston Celtics series loss to the New York Knicks. Now, with the regular season winding down, he's going to play at MSG for the first time since going down.
Jayson Tatum's going back to Madison Square Garden
On Thursday night, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics will visit the New York Knicks. It's the first time they will do that (with Tatum) since the forward went down last May. He was expected to be out the entire year, but he recovered quickly and has made the Celtics a much better team since his return.
But now, emotions will be put to the test. It was a harrowing injury, one that some players never quite come back the same from. Tatum appears not to be in that camp, but there's still some trauma associated with the arena that he'll play in.
"I mean, yeah, I've thought about it," Tatum said after helping the Celtics hold off the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday. "I'm not like, thrilled, to go back and play there. Last time I played there, obviously, it was a traumatic experience for me."
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The inevitable
The Celtics and Knicks are Eastern Conference Rivals, so there was no way Jayson Tatum could perpetually avoid going back out on the court that once nearly derailed his career. He has to face this at one point or another, so why not now?
"Obviously, I knew at some point I would have to get over that hurdle and play there again. So, it's going to have to be this Thursday. But it's not like I'm thrilled about it. But it's part of it. I decided to come back and play, so I'm not necessarily skipping certain games. I can't play back-to-backs right now, but I decided to come back and play, so it's just another game on the schedule," he said.
Should the Eastern Conference shake out like it currently is, the Celtics will be the two seed and the Knicks the three seed. And barring first-round upsets, the two would face off in the second round once again. It's better for Tatum to get the MSG return out of the way before it's a literal repeat of what happened last season.
Surging at the right time
Jayson Tatum returned earlier this year. He hasn't played every single game since, but the Celtics are an impressive 13-2 with him this year. That includes two wins over the Charlotte Hornets, who hold the best net rating in the NBA since January 1. The Tatum-led Celtics have also beaten the Oklahoma City Thunder, Atlanta Hawks, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Slowly but surely, Tatum is ramping up, and the Celtics are getting hot. He's increased his minutes, with a season-high coming against Charlotte on Tuesday. He's also increased his efficiency, making three games in a row shooting over 50% from the floor.
"Just ramping up at the right time," Tatum said. "Knowing that post All-Star break is pivotal for teams really trying to compete for a championship. And you want to be physically feeling your best as a unit, playing well together, clicking on all cylinders. And this year is no different. We've been playing extremely well going into the playoffs up to this point and knowing that we've got a few games left to feel really good about ourselves and then find out who we're going to play."
The Celtics were a true contender before Tatum returned. Now, they're a legitimate title pick, with +600 odds (the best in the East) to win the Finals at certain sportsbooks.
