{"id":715213,"date":"2026-04-21T14:24:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/715213\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T14:24:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:24:35","slug":"nba-playoffs-2026-the-scariest-takeaway-in-the-east-bostons-jayson-tatum-is-still-just-trying-to-ramp-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/715213\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA playoffs 2026: The scariest takeaway in the East? Boston’s Jayson Tatum is ‘still just trying to ramp up’"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOSTON \u2014\u00a0As recently as the start of February, Jayson Tatum<\/a> wasn\u2019t sure he was going to return this season. He was focused on attacking his rehab from a torn right Achilles tendon in May, hanging around the team, just trying to feel a part of the Boston Celtics<\/a>, even if he couldn\u2019t take the floor until the NBA\u2019s 2026-27 campaign.<\/p>\n

A side effect to the injury: Tatum lost his confidence \u2014 not only in his right leg, but in his ability to return to the player he was, a perennial candidate for the NBA\u2019s MVP. He would gain a little of it back each time he hit a rehab benchmark two weeks early.<\/p>\n

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Then, a funny thing happened in the next step of his rehab: On Feb. 10, it was time to play a live basketball game for the first time, scrimmaging against the Maine Celtics.<\/p>\n

It was only then he thought, \u201cOh, I might come back this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

He asked his teammates after each session, \u201cHow did I look?\u201d And they would remind him, in one form or another, that he is Jayson Tatum, and they are the Boston Celtics, and together they have enjoyed more success than almost any other team of their era.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe confidence that they instilled in me was impactful,\u201d Tatum said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe needed us,\u201d added Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. \u201cAnd we needed him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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If Boston hadn\u2019t played this well, retaining a No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference in his absence, Tatum may not have returned at all this season. Instead, he saw a chance to make a third trip to the Finals in five years, and he took it. A blowout of the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series was only the first step<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really been a long journey,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cA lot of things had to go right to even have the opportunity to come back and play, so obviously I thank God every day I\u2019m able to return to do what I love. From surgery the next day, with Nick [Sang, his trainer], and everything in between these last 48 weeks, it\u2019s just been a build-up to today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today was Sunday, when he totaled 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in the opening quarter of his first playoff game back since tearing his Achilles in Game 4 of a second-round playoff loss to the New York Knicks<\/a> last season. You wouldn\u2019t have been able to tell Tatum had suffered one of the most devastating injuries in sports if you hadn\u2019t already known. He finished with a line of 25-11-7, barely playing the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty nuts how far he\u2019s come and how fast he\u2019s gotten back,\u201d said Celtics wing Sam Hauser<\/a> from the locker room. \u201cIt just shows how determined and committed he was to his rehab and wanting to get back, and the belief he had in us \u2014 the chance we have to hopefully make a deep run \u2014 so it\u2019s pretty impressive what he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It is beyond impressive. It is unprecedented. More impressive?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still rehabbing,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cI\u2019m still returning. I\u2019ve returned to play, obviously, but I still attack rehab every single day, except when we have off days, so obviously that is the main difference. I\u2019m still just trying to ramp up. I got to play 16 games, so for me it\u2019s all about conditioning and still attacking rehab every single day to feel better and feel stronger and more confident, things I just didn\u2019t have to focus on in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meaning we can expect a superior version of Tatum in the coming weeks?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s going to continue to get better,\u201d Mazzulla said.<\/p>\n

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Not only that, but Tatum\u2019s body is fresh from 10 months off, unlike just about everyone else in these playoffs, and he picked up a couple things in his absence, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to work on my body, so I definitely feel a lot stronger than years past,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cSitting next to the coaches all those games I was out, I was just able to see the game through their lens and able to pick up on some things while I was out.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he\u2019s picked up his confidence while he\u2019s been back in.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe built it by knowing where he was and where he wanted to go,\u201d Mazzulla said.<\/p>\n

Where he wants to go: A third Finals in five years, a second title in three.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI understand the magnitude of the injury and the narrative around me coming back and everything in between,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cI\u2019m proud of what I\u2019ve been able to accomplish. There were many days I wasn\u2019t sure I was going to play this season, let alone get a chance to play today, so I\u2019m just overly grateful that I\u2019m in that position right now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BOSTON \u2014\u00a0As recently as the start of February, Jayson Tatum wasn\u2019t sure he was going to return this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":715214,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3766],"tags":[2037,7,45,75,3798,46,77,2675,6,191,207,2080],"class_list":{"0":"post-715213","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-celtics","8":"tag-achilles-tendon","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-boston","11":"tag-boston-celtics","12":"tag-bostonceltics","13":"tag-celtics","14":"tag-jayson-tatum","15":"tag-joe-mazzulla","16":"tag-nba","17":"tag-new-york-knicks","18":"tag-philadelphia-76ers","19":"tag-sam-hauser"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116443156568710359","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/715214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}