Celtics’ Jayson Tatum listed as questionable, paving way for return from Achilles tear
· Yahoo Sports
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum could be on the verge of returning.
In a development with major Eastern Conference ramifications, Tatum is listed as questionable for Friday night’s home game against the Dallas Mavericks.
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That means the standout forward could make his season debut Friday — less than 10 months after he ruptured his right Achilles tendon against the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs.
Tatum, 28, had expressed a desire to play this season, though it was never a certainty.
He acknowledged during a recent appearance on “The Pivot Podcast” that the surprising Celtics (41-21) have formed an identity without him and that his return could complicate their chemistry.
“There is a thought in my head, ‘How does that work?’ Or, ‘How does that look with me integrating myself off an injury and 50, 60 games into a season?’” Tatum said in late January.
“Obviously, [there] could be some challenges. It is a thought like, ‘Damn, do I come back? Or should I wait?’ It’s something that I honestly, recently — in the last two weeks or so — just kind of contemplate every single day.”
But Tatum went through a full workout in front of reporters in January, then practiced with the Celtics’ G League affiliate last month — indications his return was growing nearer.
Returning on Friday would give Tatum 20 regular-season games to get re-acclimated before the playoffs.
Boston holds a 1.5-game lead over the Knicks (40-23) for the No. 2 seed in the East, despite parting with Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford in the offseason.
On paper, a healthy Tatum would elevate a high-effort Celtics group that is led by Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard and that added veteran center Nikola Vucevic in a win-now move before last month’s trade deadline.
A six-time All-Star through eight NBA seasons, Tatum has averaged more than 26 points per game in each of the last five seasons and finished within the top six of MVP voting in each of the last four.
Last season, Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.
Tatum suffered the non-contact Achilles injury late in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden on May 12 — a series the Knicks went on to win in six games.
He underwent surgery the next day.
Now, Tatum could represent another obstacle for the Knicks in the wide-open East, where the conference-leading Detroit Pistons and fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers are among the other top contenders.