Celtics assistant shares optimistic Jayson Tatum injury outlook
"I hate that it happened to him, but his work ethic will make him great again."
Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell is optimistic that Jayson Tatum will return to his top form after he recovers from surgery.
Tatum ruptured his Achilles during the Celtics’ loss to the Knicks in the closing minutes of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. He stayed overnight in New York, and the surgery was complete by the time the Celtics had released their injury report the following day.
The recovery process that follows an injury such as Tatum’s is often a lengthy one. Generally, it takes about a year for a player to return to the court, although some, such as Kobe Bryant, have returned significantly sooner.
There are questions about whether or not the 27-year-old Tatum’s game will be the same after such a lengthy absence, but Cassell did not seem to be worried.
“When he comes back, he’s going to be even better,” Cassell said during a recent appearance on the Pat Bev Podcast with Rone. “He can observe the game of basketball, he can work on everything he needs to work on. I’m looking forward to this journey with him. It’s going to be a good journey with him.”
“This is going to be a cool ride. I hate that it happened to him, but his work ethic will make him great again. He was top-5 All-Pro this year he’ll come back, he’ll be first-team All-Pro again. He’s that good. He’s that talented of a basketball player.”
Cassell said losing Tatum during a playoff series was tough. The Celtics won Game 5 without Tatum but were blown out in Game 6. He said there are lessons to be learned from the series.
“Basketball gods happen sometimes, man,” Cassell said. “We’ll grow from this as a staff, we’ll grow from this as a team. We’re the Boston Celtics, baby.”
Tatum was enjoying one of his finest playoff performances (42 points at Madison Square Garden) at the time of his injury. The league announced this week that he finished fourth in the MVP voting.
“This young kid is special, man. This boy is special. I know special when I see it. I called Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) when he was 19 years old that he was going to be special. I never really paid attention to Jayson Tatum before I coached him, I knew he was a good ballplayer but he is special. He’s a big bag of chips with the dip. He’s a bad boy.”
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