Fourth-year Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla refused to say whether Jayson Tatum participated in Saturday’s practice, leaving the assembled media stunned ahead of Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mazzulla, however, confirmed that Tatum was at the practice session.
“He was at practice?”
Did he participate?
*Stares*
@CLNSMedia | Q: @RealBobManningIt’s worth noting that Tatum himself confirmed he took part in “a little five-on-five” after Saturday’s practice, though he refused to go into much detail.
“It was a little five-on-five,” Tatum said on Saturday.
“It’s tough to go into detail on every single thing I’m doing every day, but I will say I’m just getting acclimated more and doing little things with some of the guys out there, but it’s all part of rehab and just going with the plan.”
Jayson Tatum Injury Update
Mazzulla’s cryptical comments on Sunday came just days after he gave a non-answer when asked if he felt Tatum was close to a return from his Achilles injury.
“I don’t operate on feel. I live by principle,” Mazzulla said.
The Celtics head coach has been flooded with questions about Tatum — for obvious reasons — since the team announced that the 5-time All-Star had begun controlled five-on-five scrimmages and workouts with the G League’s Maine Celtics and some Celtics teammates. Tatum, though, has refused to set a timeline on his return.
“I do not have a date,” Tatum said ahead of the Lakers game. “Like I said I’m taking it one day at a time, I feel better than I did yesterday…and that’s what’s most important.”
Jayson Tatum Return Speculation
Amid Mazzulla’s cryptic comments, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on Monday morning that the Celtics are biding their time and won’t rush Tatum’s return.
“The Celtics are purposely trying to keep expectations at zero,” Windhorst said.
“Returning from an Achilles injury is not linear — there’s an incredible amount of strength that needs to go into that leg. He has been playing five-on-five and participating in practice, but they’re not going to go anywhere near a timeline.”
Windhorst added that Tatum released the first episode of a five-part docuseries, “The Quiet Work,” over the weekend, for a reason.
“I don’t think he lets that out there unless he thinks there’s a reasonable chance he could get back [this season],” Windhorst said.
Some Celtics insiders like Bill Simmons have floated the March 1 game against the Philadelphia 76ers as a possible return date for Tatum.
“So it’s really starting to look like March 1st or March 6th, but my money would be on March 1st now for him,” Simmons said. “I had been hearing first week of March for a while. That it was going to be somewhere around that March 4th, March 6th game.
“Conspiracy Bill has also noted that if you go on any ticket resale site for the Dallas March 6th game, the prices are way out of whack. And it can’t just be that Cooper Flagg is coming to town.”
The Celtics (37-19) steamrolled the Lakers, 111-89, on Sunday to win their third straight game and ninth in 10. They are expected to become betting favorites to represent the East in the NBA Finals if Tatum returns before the playoffs.
Celtics Drop Cryptic Update on Jayson Tatum Return