Former Celtic Warns Fans on Expecting Too Much From Tatum's Return

The Boston Celtics have a lot to be excited about. They’ve defied expectations and had a great season despite missing Jayson Tatum, and now, their star forward is set to return. Tatum is expected to make his return to the court on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks. The Celtics are currently the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 41-21. 

It would be easy to say that with Tatum back in the lineup, the Celtics instantly become favorites in the East. After all, they’re currently the second-best team in the conference and are adding an All-NBA talent to the list. 

Paul Pierce, a Celtics’ Hall of Famer, urged people not expect too much from Tatum in his return. 

“We have to wrap our mind around this, it sounds great. Oo, Jayson Tatum is coming back. We can’t expect him to be the same player right away that he was before he got hurt. You know, that would be like, you don’t expect Jayson Tatum come back and start getting 30. He has to work his way to that. And I know it sounds great and you always want the best for a player when he goes through a situation like this and he comes back just to be as careful as he can.”

Coming back from an Achilles injury is hard. For people to expect Tatum to pickup where he left off is crazy. However, getting excited about the potential of what the Celtics could be come playoff time is extremely reasonable.