Boston Celtics

Celtics’ Jayson Tatum feels ‘great’ as he recovers from COVID-19, worked out in Boston on Wednesday

Tatum will need time to ramp back up, according to Brad Stevens.

Jayson Tatum is doing well as he recovers from COVID-19. AP Photo/Chris O'Meara

By Tom Westerholm

2 minutes to read

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Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is feeling great as he recovers from COVID-19, according to Brad Stevens.

Stevens, speaking to the media via Zoom prior to Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, said he had little new to report, but that Tatum’s recovery has gone well.

“He worked out yesterday, real briefly,” Stevens said. “I think he did some work back in Boston today. He feels great. He’s out of the protocol but now he has to ramp back up the activity.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Stevens told 98.5 that Tatum has a “50/50” chance of playing the Sixers on Friday.

Tatum tested positive for COVID-19 after the team’s trip to Miami — part of a rash of positive tests and contact tracing absences that forced Boston to postpone three games. Celtics big man Robert Williams, who also tested positive, will make his return against the Sixers on Wednesday. Stevens said Williams be available for 10-15 minutes.

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“I think it’s gonna depend on each guy, and how they come back from it themselves from the standpoint of just physiologically how they’re feeling,” Stevens said. “Obviously they have to go through a series of tests, including the heart test after to be cleared to return to any activity.

“And then it’s a little bit different for Robert because he wasn’t playing 35 minutes a game before that like Jayson was. He was playing less and so I think his ramp up will be less early and then back up to his normal minutes-plus, which I thought he was really impactful for us early. When Jayson gets back we’ll have to manage those minutes, appropriately and just the idea of being inactive for 14 days I think is a challenge.”

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Kemba Walker, meanwhile, will be limited to roughly 20 minutes after returning from a knee procedure and strengthening exercises on Sunday.

“He feels great,” Stevens said. “I’m guessing that he will get more and more angry with me as the longer we go with the minutes restriction. The other day I think he was happy to be out there. And obviously he wasn’t happy with the result of the game, none of us were. But I think that we’ll try to keep him around the same as last game.”

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