Post Tatum’s Return
It has been a team effort overall in Tatum’s absence. Payton Pritchard, Derek White, Sam Hauser, and other bench pieces have gotten the job done. Head coach Joe Mazzulla deserves credit for doing an amazing job under pressure, even when he’s put in a bad spot. Losing the best player, someone who is a superstar in this league, isn’t something a team easily recovers from. The Celtics have put themselves in a great position with Tatum back.
Not many understand how important his return really is. This team is now at full strength and is dangerous to everyone in the league. Coming back after just 10 months from an Achilles tear is crazy. Whether he would return or not was a question everyone wanted the answer to. Some thought he should just sit out the whole season and play it safe. Others thought that if the team was good without him, he should come back and make a playoff push.
Tatum has played in 16 of the team’s 20 games since his return, and the Celtics have gone 13-3 in those contests. This team is polished with him back and well-rounded. They have all the traits of a championship team.
