While Damian Lillard may not consider himself the face of Achilles nation, the Portland Trail Blazers guard has kept in touch with some of the players who also suffered an Achilles tendon injury last season, star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum among them.
Dillard opened up at All-Star Week about his ties with Tatum as both rehabbed their injury, telling us about how they checked in on each other while working toward their individual benchmarks for recovery. And though Lillard went down injured earlier in the same postseason that the St. Louis native suffered his injury, the nature of the process was evidently close enough to make sharing notes helpful to getting through their recovery.
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“As far as (Tatum), from the very beginning, we’ve been kind of back and forth like, ‘What you doing now? How you feel about this? Have you done this yet?'” said Lillard.
Dec 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) loses the ball after getting fouled by Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
“It’s been like that,” added the Blazers legend. “And I think over the last couple months, we’ve both just, we’ve reached a comfortable enough position to just start really focusing (…).”
“We’ve got a better idea of what’s happening, and (are) just trying to get to the finish line.”
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Lillard on staying in touch with Celtics star Jayson Tatum through rehab