Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum remains committed to his lengthy injury recovery as his team contends for a top seed in the Eastern Conference side of the NBA Playoffs.
A key component of his team’s championship win several seasons ago, the Celtics were hoping to win more titles with Tatum leading the way. The last postseason ended when Tatum suffered a devastating torn Achilles injury and was unable to continue with his team.
The Celtics lost that playoff series to the New York Knicks, a team they would’ve had a stronger chance of defeating if Tatum was still in the lineup. In the most current season, Tatum’s team is still among the top contenders in the Eastern Conference, thanks to players including Jalen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard embracing the challenge of playing without their superstar.
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On Sunday, the Celtics hosted the Knicks in a rematch of last year’s playoff series. Ahead of the game, ESPN’s NBA insider, Shams Charania, shared an encouraging rehabilitation update for Tatum.
According to Charania, the multi-time NBA All-Star has progressed in his recovery to participating in “controlled five-on-five scrimmages with coaches.”
The NBA insider also indicated Tatum has been “aggressively” attacking “every turn” of his rehabilitation.
According to Charania, there’s a lot more to Tatum’s recovery, rehab, and eventual return. That includes more steps in his rehab from that brutal injury, as well as returning to practice with the team.
However, the Celtics superstar isn’t rushing his return as Charania indicated he wants to return as close to his former playing self as possible. That means Tatum needs to feel “100 percent confidence and trust” in his leg and the medical staff also has to give him 100 percent approval to return.
Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and six assists a game last season. In his final postseason game, he scored 42 points before suffering the unfortunate torn Achilles injury.
As of this writing, there is no clear timetable for his return, but it’s certainly encouraging to see the progress Tatum is making to recover from such a challenging injury.
Although his squad was losing at the half on Sunday to the Knicks, the Celtics have been playing well, with a 34-13 record that has them sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference standings behind the Detroit Pistons.
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