Boston Celtics cornerstone Jayson Tatum has progressed through the recovery from his Achilles tear far more quickly than most expected and has begun to flirt with a return during the 2026 season. Of course, if he’s fully healthy, I’m sure the Celtics would love to have him back in the lineup, but with how they’ve been playing recently, is it worth it to rush him back and risk reinjuring himself?
The Celtics have been one of the best teams in the NBA since the start of the new year, holding a 16-7 record, good for third best in the league, only behind the Cavaliers and Pistons. They’ve been doing this in a plethora of ways, but the main catalyst has been Jaylen Brown thriving as a number-one option.
Brown has always been looked at as the Robin to Tatum’s Batman, but he’s done well playing the part of a No. 1 option on a contender. He’s averaging nearly 30 a night and has led the Celtics to the two seed in the East. However, more than just Brown playing like an MVP, head coach Joe Mazzula has found a way to squeeze every ounce of talent out of the rest of the roster.
Derrick White has taken a bigger role in Boston’s offense, generating a career high in scoring, but in turn has also seen his efficiency hit career lows as well. He’s still been very valuable to Boston and has kept their offense playing hyper-efficiently, especially when paired with Payton Pritchard. Both guys have had to increase their usage, and Boston’s offense has barely skipped a beat.
Boston went from a 120.6 offensive rating last season, good for second in the league, to a 120.8 this year, also good for second in the league. They’ve continued to find overlooked players that can provide instant offense at any point.
Sam Hauser is the perfect example of this. He’s an absolute sharpshooter who can light you up for 20 points on 6 threes any given night if he gets hot. Boston also got aggressive at the trade deadline, adding two-time All-Star Nikola Vucevic to provide more consistent offensive play at center. Neemias Quieta had done a very solid job replacing Al Horford, but he doesn’t provide the spacing the Celtics are looking for in their smaller lineups.
They’ve also gotten starts out of Luka Garza, Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Ron Harper Jr., and Amari Williams. Basically, if you’ve gotten minutes for the Celtics, you’ve probably gotten the chance to start this year.
The windows for contention in the NBA can shut at any moment, and the way Mazzulla has maximized this year has been impressive.
With how things have been rolling for Boston, you could let Tatum miss the entire season and still win the East. That felt impossible at the start of the year, but that’s why you probably shouldn’t doubt an organization as strong as Boston.
