The Boston Celtics saw a remarkable comeback from a torn Achilles tendon for Jayson Tatum last NBA season, and no matter how poorly the playoffs wound up, no matter how disappointing the summer was, when the team traded away fellow star Jaylen Brown, the fact that Tatum played as much as he did and as well as he did was a testament to his hard work.
Still, there is no question, that was not quite Jayson Tatum on the floor for the Celtics in the spring. He played in 16 games after coming back in March, and averaged 21.8 points and 10.0 rebounds. But he shot just 41.1% from the field and 32.9% from the 3-point line, numbers he would not accept for so long a stretch in a normal regular season.
Now, coming back with the injury hopefully entirely behind him and with a clearly sharper leadership role now that Brown is gone, the Celtics need Tatum at his tip-top, both physically and mentally. And he said he is just that.
Jayson Tatum Getting ‘Over Hurdle’ in Celtics Camp
Speaking to Celtics reporters on Thursday (via Noa Dalzell of Celtics Blog), Tatum said he is certainly in a different place health-wise now than he was in March.
He said: “I feel great—16 months, October 12 will be 17 months. But obviously, I came back last March and I was cleared, but mentally, from a conditioning standpoint, I wasn’t myself.
“To me, when I came back, it was great from a mentality standpoint, just to kind of get over that hurdle of playing, and even if I was at 80% myself, knowing that I could still be effective going into the offseason, knowing that I had the whole summer to get my body right, to get in the rhythm of playing basketball again. I feel so much more confident from a mental standpoint — and physically than I did last month. That’s just how it should be. It’s a long journey from the injury that I had. I am feeling great.”
Tatum and the Celtics are still in the throes of training camp, but will finally be on the floor for a preseason game on Thursday, October 8 against the Cavaliers.
Celtics’ Star Jayson Tatum Gives Eye-Opening Health Update