The question all year for the Celtics before the season had even started was, “When is Tatum coming back?”
That play from game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in New York when Tatum tore his achilles is one that Celtics fans and Tatum won’t forget.
Tatum was feared to miss the entire season, but his return against the Mavericks on March 6th gave everyone new hope and championship aspirations.
When Tatum returned, he had a minutes restriction of 27 minutes a game. Now that it has been about a month, Tatum is no longer limited and has been averaging 33 minutes a game, just a minute shorter than his career average.
It took him some time to ramp up in that first game against the Mavericks, but he finished the game with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. He’s played in 13 games since, and is averaging 21.4 points per game, 10 rebounds and 5.1 assists.
These numbers are down compared to the last 6 seasons, which may be evidence that he isn’t back to his normal self just yet. He averaged 26.8 points per game last season and has averaged more than 22 points per game every season since 2019-20. His career high in ppg in a season was 30.1 in 2022-23.
Tatum’s 41% shooting percentage so far this season is down compared to last season’s 45%. In fact, Tatum has shot at least 45% from the field every season of his career. He is also shooting just 33.3% from three point range this season.
It is amazing that Tatum was able to return from an achilles injury in just 10 months. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffered the same injury in the opening minutes of game 7 of the NBA Finals and is out for this entire season. My point? While Tatum might not be producing at a level that he once did, we should be grateful he was able to come back this
season. His return gives the Celtics a huge boost on the court. He has come back at the perfect time before the playoffs. The Celtics have given Tatum time to work off some of the rust by being out for 10 months and hopefully we see the version of Tatum that all Celtics fans know and love.
There is no doubt in my mind that Tatum will get those numbers back up to what they once were. There is a lot to look forward to especially with the playoffs just a week away. In what was expected to be a down year for the Celtics, Tatum and the rest of the team have a lot to prove in the playoffs.
