Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum could make his NBA season debut on Friday, less than 10 months after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon in last year’s playoffs.<\/p>\n
Tatum was upgraded from “out” to “questionable” on Boston’s official injury report ahead of Friday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.<\/p>\n
Tatum has been making steady progress, including practicing with the Celtics’ G League affiliate in February, but he and the team had shied away from giving a timeline for his return.<\/p>\n
Tatum was carried off the court in the fourth quarter of game four of the Celtics’ Eastern Conference semi-finals loss to the New York Knicks and had surgery on May 13.<\/p>\n
He surprised many in September when he said in an interview with NBC’s Today Show that he hadn’t ruled out a return this season.<\/p>\n
The six-time NBA All-Star, who was a member of the USA’s Olympic gold medal-winning teams at the Tokyo and Paris Games, has attended most of the team’s games this season while continuing a rehab process he called “exhausting”.<\/p>\n
Despite Tatum’s absence the Celtics have emerged as contenders with Most Valuable Player contender Jaylen Brown leading the way.<\/p>\n
They were in second place in the Eastern Conference going into Thursday’s games, five games behind the Detroit Pistons and 1.5 games ahead of the third-placed New York Knicks.<\/p>\n
Tatum told “The Pivot” podcast earlier this year he knew his return could affect the current lineup’s chemistry.<\/p>\n
“I haven’t played with these guys or with this group, but (the Celtics have) lot of high-IQ guys out there,” he said. “So if that did present itself, and if I did come back, we professionals will figure it out.”<\/p>\n
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