Jayson Tatum returned from a torn Achilles on March 6, helping the Boston Celtics to a 120-100 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Boston has had 13 games since Tatum was cleared to play, with the All-NBA forward taking part in 11 of them. Unfortunately for the Celtics, he was ruled out of the 112-102 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, March 30.
Since his return, Tatum has been steadily improving. On Sunday, March 29, he played his best game of the season so far, spearheading Boston to a 114-99 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Tatum ended the night with 32 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds, shooting 52.2% from the field.
In a recent conversation with Heavy on Sports, via Casinocanada.com, the professionals on the Canadian betting market, former Celtics forward and player development coach Evan Turner, praised Tatum’s willingness to embrace the unknown as he continues pushing to get back to his best.
“Shout out to Nick Sang and Jayson’s whole circle,” Turner said. “They definitely supported him to get to this point. I know it took a lot of courage because when your body goes down, you have a lot of self-doubt.”
Turner continued.
“Sometimes, as an athlete, the unknown isn’t always the most comfortable situation. And sometimes you can run from it, or you could be like a bison and walk towards a storm. I wanna commend him for being able to do that because I know how tough it was for him.”
Nobody expected Tatum to hit the ground running when he first returned from injury. However, that’s exactly what’s happened. He’s been operating at an elite level as a rebounder, has consistently improved as a passer and playmaker, and his shooting efficiency is slowly trending in the right direction.
Evan Turner Shared A Message With Celtics’ Tatum
During the same interview, Turner also revealed a message he’d sent to Tatum before he made his decision regarding an in-season return.
“This is the conversation we had, when I guess he wasn’t sure if he was coming back or not,” Turner said. “I was just like, ‘Hey, bro, worry about who you’re going to marry or if you want to have another kid. Or, like, if you want to buy a new car. Like, sometimes God touched people twice.”
Turner continued.
“Like, this is basketball — it’s what you do. So don’t second-guess it. This is your gift. If you want to do it, go out and do it and go kill it. But don’t second-guess like, am I a different person? No, you still have him. Act like it. When you come out, I want you to come out acting like a mob boss. And your boy’s still got the block popping.’”
It’s unclear whether Turner’s words of wisdom helped Tatum decide to return this season. Nevertheless, the message was on point.
Turner Believes In The Boston Celtics’ Star Duo
Another hot topic that Turner touched on was the partnership between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The All-Star duo have consistently faced criticism as to whether they can coexist on the court.
“I think it’s funny ’cause I’ve seen it up close,” Turner said. “After the first few minutes when I was around ’em, I’m like, oh, these dudes don’t hate on it. Like, they like each other. They have ultimate respect for each other.”
Turner continued.
“ There was no negative, no side eye, no anything. They know who they are, they know where they’re going… Those dudes are elite and I think as young individuals, young men, you just gotta let ’em sit back and cook and let them rock this generation.”
Most teams would do anything to have two players like Tatu and Brown. They’re highly talented, consummate professionals and most importantly, they know how to win. We’ve already seen both Tatum and Brown work to bring the best out of each other this season.
As such, Celtics fans have nothing to worry about in that regard. Not in this season, or any other season moving forward.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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