Boston Celtics
Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics will need to adjust their rotations in order to accommodate Tatum’s return.
The wait might finally be over.
Less than 10 months after Jayson Tatum first crumpled to the hardwood at Madison Square Garden with a ruptured Achilles tendon, the Celtics superstar forward is close to a return to the parquet.
For the first time all season, the Celtics upgraded Tatum from “Out” to “Questionable” in their latest injury report ahead of Friday’s home game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Both the Celtics and Tatum have remained mum regarding his return this season. But ESPN insider Shams Charania noted on Thursday that there’s an “expectation” that Tatum will play on Friday against the Mavericks — a game that will be televised on ESPN.
Tatum’s accelerated return from such a major injury stands as a major lift for the Celtics, who currently sit in second place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 41-21 record.
An effective Tatum could put Boston over the top in a wide-open East playoff field this spring. But there are several questions that Tatum, Joe Mazzulla, and the rest of the Celtics must grapple with as they get ready for the stretch run of the 2025-26 season.
What kind of Jayson Tatum are the Celtics getting this year?
In one of the latest episodes of his docu-series, “The Quiet Work”, Tatum was candid about his upcoming role with Boston.
“I ain’t coming back to be no role player,” Tatum acknowledged.
Of course, even if Tatum is given the green light to play on Friday, reasonable expectations still need to be put in place.
Returning to game action less than a year after tearing your Achilles is an impressive feat. But Tatum is not going to be the same superstar talent he was last May — at least not at this stage of his recovery.
Granted, the 2025-26 Celtics don’t need him to be an iso-ball scorer in crunch time — tasked with sinking step-back 3-pointers during this playoff push.
Given the expected rust he’ll need to shake off, Tatum has the luxury of not needing to be “The Guy” this season — not with Jaylen Brown ascending as the team’s go-to scoring option and tone-setter.
The 2026-27 campaign might be a different story, with Tatum afforded a full summer to further rest up his surgically-repaired ankle/heel. But there might be some growing pains out of the gate this year for Tatum, who shouldn’t be expected to drop 30 points with regularity during his return to game action.
Even if he’s a supercharged “3-and-D” player who can snag timely rebounds and defend athletic wings, Tatum — operating at 75 percent of his regular capabilities — will still be a game-changer for this team.
How will Celtics manage Tatum’s workload?
Joe Mazzulla hasn’t delved into how the Celtics plan to use Tatum if he returns this season.
It’s to be expected that Tatum will be on a minutes restriction — likely playing less than 30 minutes a game as he tries to re-acclimate to NBA game action.
Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray — who tore his Achilles in a game against Boston on Jan. 31, 2025 — returned to the court last month for New Orleans. In four games so far this season, he’s averaging 25.0 minutes per contest.
Another question will be whether or not Tatum starts or comes off the bench in his return. Even with his minutes scaled back, it would come as somewhat of a surprise if Tatum doesn’t get the nod to open games this year. He has started all 585 of his career games in the NBA.
If Tatum does return on Friday against Dallas, he does have an extended runway to find his footing before the postseason gets underway. Boston has 20 games left on its regular-season schedule, with only two more back-to-back sets over that stretch.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Tatum avoids a game during those back-to-back slates and potentially sits out a few other matchups over the last six weeks of the regular season.
Who might get knocked out of the starting lineup?
If Tatum does start right away, Mazzulla will have some roster decisions to make.
Ever since Boston dealt guard Anfernee Simons to Chicago ahead of the trade deadline, Boston has pushed Payton Pritchard back to the bench — and rolled with Sam Hauser and Baylor Scheierman in the starting five.
Scheierman has been playing some strong basketball for Boston as of late. But unless Mazzulla opts to push Hauser to the bench to give the second unit more long-range firepower (unlikely with Pritchard in that grouping), it seems like Scheierman will be the odd man out in the starting five when Tatum returns.
How will Tatum’s return impact minutes, chemistry?
Tatum, even in a somewhat limited capacity, will still be a major gain for Boston.
His malleable game will allow him to impact Boston’s depth chart in a variety of ways moving forward — alleviating some of the scoring pressure on top players like Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard.
While Brown will still be Boston’s top scoring option this season, Tatum can be tasked with locking down opposing stars at the other end of the court in critical moments.
His playmaking and ball-handling capabilities should also account for the loss of Anfernee Simons, who was dealt in order for Boston to bolster its frontcourt depth with Nikola Vučević.
Still, Tatum’s return and the minutes he’ll command — even if they range between 25-30 a night — will still create a unique domino effect that Mazzulla and his coaching staff must manage.
Beyond potentially easing some of the workload for players like Brown (34.3 minutes per game), White (34.3), and Sam Hauser (24.5), the Celtics will need to adjust the reps for their young trio of guards: Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, and Jordan Walsh.
Tatum’s absence so far this season has allowed all three to thrive under heavier minutes this season — with Schierman in particular averaging close to 26 minutes per game since the NBA trade deadline.
Gonzalez has looked like a steal after getting drafted 28th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. On Monday, he became the first Celtics rookie to post at least 18 points, 16 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks in a single game since Larry Bird in 1979-80.
Of course, the Celtics will welcome the return of Tatum — even if it cuts into those younger players’ reps moving forward. Still, Mazzulla would be wise to work all three of Schierman, Gonzalez, and Walsh into Boston’s overhauled (but deep) rotation for this stretch run.
Expect plenty of discourse — mostly from the national media — over the impact that Tatum’s return will have on Brown’s play and his standing as Boston’s de facto leader and star this season.
Yes, the circumstances have changed somewhat this year, given both Tatum’s injury and Brown’s unquestioned role as the team’s go-to option. But Tatum and Brown have spent years playing together — and know how to win together.
Look no further than the 2024 NBA Finals against the Mavericks. Even during prolonged stretches where Tatum’s shot wasn’t necessarily falling in that series, he was still making positive plays for his team due to his playmaking, rebounding, and ability to guard both shifty guards and big men.
Expect similar cohesion moving forward from the two players who helped Boston win a title in 2024 — and will continue to prop up the Celtics’ contention window for the foreseeable future.
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