Jayson Tatum‘s return to the court roughly 10 months after an Achilles tear has been a remarkable story, but the Celtics star admitted that he’s been frustrated by the difficulty of trying to get back to the player he used to be, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (subscription required). Tatum held a brief session with reporters after Sunday’s loss to Minnesota, which saw him go scoreless in the first half before he finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“I mean, I ain’t know how this [expletive] was going to be,” he said. “I mean, it’s tough. In the moment, you try not to think about it, you just want to be Jayson Tatum and feel like yourself again. I’m not Superman, so it’s obviously going to take some time. I think the next day I can give myself a little more grace over certain things, but in the moment, I mean, it’s frustrating.”
Tatum shot 6-of-16 on Sunday and 2-of-7 from three-point range, and Himmelsbach points out that he has yet to make half his shots in any game since returning to action on March 6. He’s averaging 19.1 PPG in eight games, but connecting at just 38.8% from the field and 29.3% from beyond the arc.
Tatum told reporters that he hasn’t fully rediscovered his feel for the game yet and is trying to slow down and regain his rhythm. He dismissed the idea that he’s just suffering through a regular shooting slump.
“I wouldn’t say normal slump, because it’s the first time I went through something like this,” he said. “I mean, it’s just been a long time. It was a long time before I could shoot a basketball, before I could walk. So just trying to knock the rust off game by game. I find great spurts and moments from game to game and, you know, just trying to put more of them together.”
Even though Tatum isn’t back to his usual standards, his return has boosted the Celtics in their battle for playoff position. They’ve gone 6-2 in the games he’s played and hold a half-game lead over New York for the No. 2 seed in the East.
There was some concern about how Tatum’s comeback might affect Jaylen Brown, who emerged as the team’s top scoring option and put up career-best numbers in several categories during his absence, but Brown said he and Tatum discussed how they would fit together, per Souichi Terada of MassLive.
“Sometimes as guys, you gotta do what you gotta do as a job,” Brown said in a pregame interview on NBC. “Sometimes your communication falls off. So to be able to get back on the same page is important. But it’s going to take more communication as the year goes on. Things change. You got adversity. Ups and downs. We just communicated that it was going to be me and you. Our communication sets the tone for the rest of the team. We both gotta be better going forward if we want this thing to work.”
Understandable but dude just needs to keep playing defense rebounding and passing. Keep attacking on offense and the game will come back!
Bingo. When the shot’s not falling, you do those things and it helps you get back in the flow.
Yessir Gary! He is going to be just fine.
I was also going to say, only a ball player realizes the things you stated above. Did you play past high school? My claim to fame that I’ll mention every single chance I get lol, is one year of California junior college basketball.
Gary I didn’t play past high school, but one of my first memories of hanging out with my father was watching Larry Bird play on this old ah tv. I’ve been hooked since!
He’s still a big fan too!
Nice.
I played Division 3! The caveat is that we were very bad.
Much respect for anyone at that level. There’s been a lot of great JC players obviously.., but I wasn’t one of them lol. But D3 is a huge step up as far as I’m concerned.
I rode the bench at a small D3 school in Maine. I appreciate the props, but you probably would have made the team. Ha.
I wish I had been big enough to compete but I’m not.
Ended up taking what little athleticism I had to the military. Had fun playing hero for a bit and now I’m just a broken old guy lol
Thank you for your service !! Ditto on the broken old guy.
Most of the time it was my pleasure sir. HAHA
Yep, Jason always does more than just scoring for us. Now, he needs to just relax, take it easy and do things to help this roster win. We have enough good three-point shooting. Jason can get defensive boards and focus on his passing, his assists, keeping the ball moving, for now. Let’s win some games with our style of low turnovers, lots of assists and defense. “Take the pressure off yourself right now Jason. We don’t need you as Superman quite yet. We will. Patience.”
He’s been better than expected so far. Anyone would be frustrated at the process of coming back taking awhile.
I’m surprised at the amount of play making that he’s performing. I expected him to be more of a spot up shooter for the rest of the regular season, and maybe also some post ups if there’s a midget on him. Basically, I expected him to take Sam Hauser‘s role, and let Shireman continue to be Jayson Tatum.
Interesting. Baylor Scheierman is destined to start, down the road, I think. And I think Jason is indeed shooting the threes Sam did. All is to be expected. Has to happen. I think it will all work out … by Playoff time.
Honestly hes been a below average 3 point shooter for a long time. Hasn’t been over 38% since 20/21 season.
I agree. Jason can get hot from three but we have better three point shooters. Jason came into the league as a mid-range expert I recall.
You’re missing the point, Tatum doesn’t need to hit 38 percent from three to be effective.
Tatum has seem to rush some shots. He does need to shoot the 3 better. He will get it together with his work ethic. Hauser is the one who has disappeared. Hopefully l y Vuc can play big for them.
Hauser not getting shots.
Lightweight article – it’s been 8 games, what did he expect? He has 15/10s in 3 of those 8 games and has 5 games of 20+ points, he legit has only had 1 bad game this year out of 8, and they won that game anyway ffs lol
He is playing great all things considered, no fan is critical of his output so far, he is killing it and because of him, Boston are the #1 contender now, they are sweeping OKC and will likely get over Denver or the Spurs in 7.
It’s probably more mental than physical, Jayson. Just pick your spots and don’t feel like you have to shoulder the burden of being the #1 option at any point in the remainder of this season/playoffs. You already exceeded the general public’s expectations this season by returning to the court as quickly as you did. Tame the ego and your OWN expectations, and look at it from the perspective of the overachieving Celtics unfairly acquiring a high-quality role player well past the trade deadline. You don’t have to be the Tatum-of-old for Boston to make the Finals. Remember that, Jayson.
Thank you, well put! Jason doesn’t have to be a superstar right now, just fit in. And he will. I’ve always been impressed with how he handles himself. A good man. Go Jason!