Philadelphia wasn’t ready for this version of Jayson Tatum.
Game 1 of what could be a long road for the Celtics’ playoffs, against the shorthanded 76ers, lacked any dramatic tension. Tatum grabbed the day’s first rebound, Boston found a point on the other end, and Philadelphia never led in the 123-91 route. What it did instead was showcase how Tatum looks like he’s leveled up again in yet another step of his Achilles rupture recovery.
Nick Nurse’s Sixers split regular season meetings with Boston but never saw Tatum post-injury. The two teams last played March 1, just five days before he came back. Anything they’ve seen from him is as much as fans have – a guy who has made an impressive comeback after 10 months of rehabilitation and looks healthy, but has yet to consistently perform at the same top-5 league player level as he had pre-injury.
Well, the Tatum who took the parquet should be nightmare fuel for the rest of the Eastern Conference.
He looked every bit that pre-injury guy. Game 1 wasn’t a thriller. It was a horror movie, and Tatum looked like Michael Meyers sitting back up in the hallway after you thought that crowbar took him out.
He opened the first quarter crashing the glass and seeking out alley-oops and backdoor passes. He spoke about how differently he sees the court after spending months sidelined this season when I sat down with him for an interview on ‘Celtics Weekly,’ and this first quarter was a perfect example of what he described.
“Spending 60-some-odd games on the bench and sitting over there with the coaches, I would say that’s one thing I learned, just kind of seeing it from their perspective on both ends of the floor,” he said. “Things that they pay attention to, notice, and look out for, for our team and our opponent. That’s something I’ve tried to help translate through my play since I’ve been back.”
Tatum’s nearly-instant chemistry with big man Neemias Queta was on full display as he fed him for a backbreaking dunk, and even when he lost his handle early in the first quarter, he regained what could have been a live ball turnover and drove in for a pretty turnaround jumper. He flirted with a double-double in the first half, posting 21 points and eight rebounds, along with four assists and two steals.
While Tatum’s game looks more well-rounded since his return, the question that still looms concerns his explosiveness. He’s shown enough to suggest he’ll recover that part of his abilities in time – but driving dunks before halftime should inspire even further optimism. It might be back sooner than we all thought – his pre-halftime driving dunks looked a far cry from the failure-to-launch attempt he had in the early portion of his first game back, when he struggled to clear the rim.
Concerning his confidence, head coach Joe Mazzulla said, "“I think he just built it through work. He built it through having great people around him.”
When faced with Kelly Oubre Jr. midway through the third, Tatum took the challenge head-on, dancing and Euro-stepping through the paint for a perfect bucket.
I’ll admit: there’s an aspect of writing this column that feels akin to declaring the Red Sox World Series contenders after a win on Opening Day, (that may be a less relevant metaphor given the last eight seasons, but you get the gist). However, there have been critical checkpoints in Tatum’s road to recovery: his first night back, graduating from his minutes restriction, returning to New York – the scene of his injury.
He’s passed the latest test of a playoffs game and all the nerves and physicality that brings with flying colors. Running partner and season leader Jaylen Brown had no reason to take a step back, either, as he had 16 points in the third quarter alone. He posted a team-high 26.
Will the Sixers get more from Tyrese Maxey in the future, who finished the day with 21 points? Probably – he had five 40+ games this year. Will Joel Embiid return from his appendectomy in time to impact the series? Maybe? Does it really feel like it makes much of a difference in the wake of what we just watched?
If this game indicates what the Celtics can expect from Tatum going forward, it’s disastrous for the likes of not just Philly, but New York and Detroit, too.
