Celtics reportedly ‘very happy’ with work Jayson Tatum has put in this offseason
Tatum has reportedly remained in Boston for nearly the entire offseason as the Celtics star rehabs from an Achilles injury.
The latest on Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury: Jayson Tatum might still be more than a bit away from returning to game action, but the Celtics seem to be encouraged by his rehab process.
After a meeting with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak & Bertrand” shared that the team is “very happy” with the work Tatum’s put in this offseason after tearing his Achilles in May.
“He did not leave town,” Marc Bertrand said of what he heard about Tatum’s rehab. “He has been here the entire time.”
Scott Zolak added that the Celtics didn’t ask Tatum to stay in Boston to rehab over the offseason, with the star opting to remain in the area instead. The only time Tatum has left Boston has been for weekend getaways, Bertrand and Zolak added.
“[Mazzulla] said [Tatum] is taking trips. He’ll go away to a certain island or something,” Zolak said. “He’ll get his Friday workout end, fly out, work out at that place, fly back Sunday night, and be back in the building Monday morning.”
“He’s doing things that nobody asked him to do,” Bertrand added.
However, the Celtics have yet to set a timeline for Tatum’s return. Mazzulla is also refusing to set an expectation on when Tatum might be back on the court, too.
“I looked at Joe and said, ‘He’s going to be back by the end of the year,'” Zolak said.
“[Mazzulla] would not commit to that,” Bertrand said.
Most NBA players who have suffered an Achilles tear in recent years have been sidelined for a whole year, if not longer. But Tatum’s father, Justin, said that his son could return in eight to nine months, which would be a rather optimistic timeline. If that is the case, Tatum would return sometime around the All-Star break.
Tatum has sporadically posted some of his workouts through the rehab process over the summer. He also seemed to be in a good spot with how his rehab was going in a comment to the NBA’s social media team in August.
“Rehab is tedious, man,” Tatum said at the time. “It’s six days a week. I’m starting to get a little bit better. I’m out of the boot now. Better days ahead, but just trying to take it one day at a time. You gotta be resilient.
“The first six weeks of this was probably the toughest six weeks of any point in my life. Just have to accept it and realize it happened. And now I have to do everything in my power to get back to who I was and get back to playing.”
Still, Tatum seems likely to miss most of the 2025-26 season, if not all of it. With Boston either trading away or letting key players walk in free agency over the offseason, there’s been some thinking that the team could tank this upcoming season.
Zolak and Bertrand didn’t get the sense that the Celtics want to use the upcoming year as a rebuilding season in their conversation with Mazzulla, though.
“That’s not happening,” Bertrand said of the tank talk.
“He may be more excited about this year’s team than last year’s team,” Zolak added.
Trivia: Jayson Tatum has the second-most points in playoff history before their 28th birthday. Which player did he pass to move into second?
(Hint: He’s beaten the Celtics in the NBA Finals.)
Scores and schedules
The Red Sox lost two of three to the Athletics, falling 5-3 on Thursday. With the loss, the Red Sox are just 1.5 games ahead of the Guardians for the final wild card spot in the American League entering the penultimate weekend of the regular season. The Red Sox begin a three-game set against the Rays in Tampa Bay on Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 7:35 p.m.
Can the Patriots win back-to-back games for the first time in three years? They’ll have a chance to do that when they host the Steelers on Sunday. Pittsburgh, now led by Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, hasn’t won in New England since 2008. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Finally, the Bruins begin preseason play this weekend. They host the Capitals on Sunday, with puck drop scheduled for 5 p.m.
Read more from Boston.com:
- Chad Finn: Patriots-Steelers is a matchup for the ages with Drake Maye going against Aaron Rodgers
- Aaron Rodgers recalls ‘1 of the greatest plays’ he’s seen playing Patriots at Gillette Stadium
- ‘It fulfilled a lifelong dream’: Charlie Coyle thanks Bruins fans with social media message
- What Alex Cora said in latest update about Roman Anthony’s return from injury
- Brent Rooker’s 30th home run powers the A’s to a 5-3 win over the slumping Red Sox
- Ian O’Connor described the roadblocks he faced while writing his Bill Belichick book
- NFL insider called out the ‘bigger advantage’ Tom Brady gives Raiders as part owner and broadcaster
Jayson Tatum gets trolled by Denzel Washington
Appearing on the “Young Man and The Three” podcast with Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, Spike Lee recalled a story from a Celtics-Knicks game this past season in which Washington trash-talked Tatum. After Tatum disagreed with call made by an official, Washing told the Celtics star, “Yo, Tatum. I’m the only actor here.”
The ref and Tatum each got a good laugh from the comment, according to Lee.
Alex Cora is blunt on Red Sox’ offense
With Boston scoring just nine runs in its three-game set against the Athletics and their hitting going cold ever since Roman Anthony’s injury, Cora admitted that the team isn’t performing as well as it should at the plate.
“We’ve got to play better baseball,” Cora told reporters on Thursday. “Offensively, there were some signs today, but we’re not there. We’re not there offensively. We just got to make sure who we are as an offense, keep the line moving.”
Daily highlight
In an elimination game between the Storm and Aces, Las Vegas guard Jackie Young made a key putback with 12.4 seconds left to give her team a 74-73 lead. The Aces were able to make a stop on the ensuing possession, helping them advance to the WNBA’s semifinals for a series against the Fever.
On this day
One year ago on Friday, Shohei Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to join the 50/50 club — hitting his 50th home run after recording over 50 stolen bases. The Dodgers’ two-way superstar created another 50/50 club on Tuesday, becoming the first player to hit 50 homers and record 50 strikeouts as a pitcher in a season.
Trivia answer: Kobe Bryant
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