The Super Bowl Sunday matinee against the New York Knicks has kicked off a more intense Jayson Tatum watch. There are some who have speculated that Jayson Tatum would target a return versus the Knicks, against whom he suffered his Achilles injury last May. He did not actually do that, but according to a new report, he is back on the court.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, on the ABC broadcast, “Jayson Tatum has started controlled five-on-five scrimmaging with coaches.”
Looking back on comments from Brad Stevens nearly two months ago, this looks like an expected next step, but there is still more to go.
“[There are] several weeks of progressions,” he said in early December. “Scripted against small groups, scripted against bigger groups, scripted in 5-on-5, unscripted random, all the way up through those. But it’s a long progression, and it’s almost like, once you hit the strength, then you do your thresholds of a progression of play, and then you’re also reconditioning to play real minutes whatever that looks like.”
Charania confirmed as much in his Sunday report.
“There’s more boxes for Jayson Tatum to check,” Charania said. “There’s more phases in his rehab. He’s gotta practice with the team, of course, and then, again, there are also the normal nerves of coming back from an injury of this magnitude.”
Tatum has admitted to feeling hesitant about coming back. He opened up about it in a recent appearance on The Pivot podcast.
“They have an identity this year … and it’s been successful,” he said. “So there’s a thought in my head … how does that look with me integrating myself off an injury and 50-60 games into a season? Obviously, could be some challenges. And it is a thought like, damn, do I come back, or should I wait? It’s something that I honestly, recently, in the last like two weeks or so, kind of just kind of contemplate every single day.”
In a post-trade deadline media availability, Stevens said feelings of self-doubt are a normal part of the recovery process, and there is no pressure from the team for Tatum to return earlier than he’s comfortable.
“The best for Jayson Tatum to come back is when he’s 110% healthy, he’s fully cleared by everybody that matters in that decision and he’s got great peace of mind and he’s ready to do it,” Stevens said. “That’s it. That’s the objective, and that’s what we’re going to stick with.”
Many athletes who have suffered catastrophic injuries, including Kevin Durant, who also tore his Achilles tendon, say the mental hurdle is the last and toughest one to clear. According to Charania, Tatum is working to make sure his return is seamless by making sure he’s the same player everyone remembers.
“From my understanding, he wants to come back as close to ‘Jayson Tatum, as Jayson Tatum’ as possible,” Charania said. “Not a shell of himself, not a percentage of himself. And the other side of that is the Celtics medical staff will have to clear him 100% before he can return, and he himself will have to feel 100% confidence and trust in that leg before he makes a potential return this season.”