What will Jayson Tatum’s return look like? Are the Celtics the team to beat in the East?

The NBA title race just got a whole lot more interesting. Jayson Tatum is reportedly making his return to the Celtics this season, possibly this Friday against the Mavs. What should we watch up on his return? And are the Celtics the team to beat in the East? Our writers weigh in.

What’s your reaction to the news of Tatum’s return?

Tom Haberstroh: Here. We. Go. In terms of regular-season developments, this is probably the most highly-anticipated appearance since Luka Dončić’s first game with the Lakers. It seems awfully quick based on recent high-profile player timelines. He’s three months ahead of Dejounte Murray’s absence and eight months ahead of Kevin Durant’s injury-to-return timeline. I’m really not sure what to expect.

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Dan Devine: I have to imagine that all the stakeholders involved — the Celtics’ medical and training team, Brad Stevens and his front office, Joe Mazzulla and his coaching staff, Tatum’s representation, Tatum’s family and friends, and, obviously, most importantly, Tatum himself — are operating with both the best possible information and an appropriate abundance of caution. I have to imagine that they came to the conclusion that returning now, affording him six weeks of regular-season ramp-up before the season gets serious, rather than two months from now, when the Celtics will be in the throes of a playoff series, is the safer, more prudent option. I understand all that, intellectually.

But as an inherently anxious and nervous person who was there at Madison Square Garden when Tatum ruptured his Achilles against the Knicks, and one who read Haberstroh’s column on Achilles recovery timelines, I’d be lying if I said my immediate reaction was anything but, “Man, I really hope everybody signing off this soon is right.”

Ben Rohrbach: What a job Jaylen Brown has done steering the ship in Jayson Tatum’s absence. The league continued apace for 10 months without its brightest American-born star. It waits for no man, and in Boston we expected that to mean hard times for a team that not only lost Tatum to an Achilles injury but a handful more championship…

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Author : Yahoo Sports Staff

Publish date : 2026-03-05 21:49:00

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