After returning to the court following his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is still trying to get back to his old form.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps spoke to an Eastern Conference assistant coach who compared Tatum’s return to another iconic comeback over two decades ago.
“The thing it reminds me of, in a way, is the [No. ] 45 Jordan year,” the assistant coach said, referring to when Michael Jordan came back from playing baseball in March of the 1994-95 season. “He’s working his way back into shape midseason, getting up to speed, and we’ll see if he can.”
Tatum missed the first 62 games of the year before returning earlier this month. While he’s scored in double figures in all eight games he has played with five 20-point performances, he recently admitted that he’s grown frustrated with his slow progress toward getting back to his old self.
“I ain’t know how this s–t was going to be,” Tatum told reporters Sunday after Boston’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. “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.”
Still, Tatum’s return makes the Celtics one of the favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. He could find his old form during the team’s postseason run.
Boston (47-24) will face a tough test on Wednesday night when it meets the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (57-15) in a potential NBA Finals preview.
