Look out, because Jayson Tatum is starting to look like Jayson Tatum again.
After a miraculous recovery and return to the court after tearing his Achilles during the NBA Playoffs a year ago, Tatum got off to a predictably sluggish start when he got back on the floor.
But his play has been ramping up recently, which is good news for the Boston Celtics with the playoffs on the horizon.
It has all culminated with back-to-back vintage Tatum performances in Boston wins. He dropped 32 points with 8 rebounds and 5 assists in Sunday's win over the surging Hornets. He followed that up on Wednesday with a ridiculous triple-double in a win over the Heat, where he scored 25 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, and dished out 11 assists.
The recovery from such a devastating injury isn't just physical; it's mental. It's accepting that it's going to take time before you feel like yourself on the court again. For Tatum, it took advice from 4-time NBA champion Klay Thompson, who suffered a torn Achilles back in 2020, for it all to set in.
"Klay told me this after we played them the first time, he’s just like, ‘Man, he’s like one thing he wished he did more, when he first came back was just give himself more grace," Tatum said. "He was like, ‘There's not too many people understand what this injury is like and coming back and the ups and downs, physically and mentally that you deal with.’ That's just something I've tried to continue to remind myself.
"It’s a balance of being a competitor and wanting to be the best version of yourself, but I just kind of try to remember, I've came a long way, and I'm grateful to be where I'm at. I wasn't 100% sure I was even gonna be able to play this year, so the fact that I'm able to go out there and contribute, even what I'm doing now, is a big win.”
Jayson Tatum is trying his best to listen to Klay Thompson's advice
It hasn't been easy for Tatum to listen to what Thompson said. He admitted that he still gets frustrated. When you've reached the heights that Tatum has, it's difficult to accept your play not being up to that standard.
At the same time, the former Duke star is finding ways to contribute to winning basketball anyway. The Celtics are 10-2 in the 12 games Tatum has played in. They sit in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference in a year many thought in the preseason would be lost because of Tatum's injury and trades that sent Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday away.
The playoffs are on the horizon, and Tatum will look for redemption from last season's injury that cost the Celtics a chance to repeat. With the way they've been playing, and with Tatum starting to look a lot more like himself, nobody is going to want to see them in the coming weeks.