Jayson Tatum was crushed. Physically. Emotionally. He was there, a player of the first five in the world in a team of Celtics with a legitimate chance of being the first champions of the NBA repeated since Kevin during the bay, then suddenly, after having plunged for a loose ball, he was lying on the field of Madison Square Garden in an incredible pain with what he knew how to be a torn Achilles.
Tatum has entrusted all this in one of the pillars of his support, his mother, He said to Andrew Grief of NBC News.
“It was almost as if I felt betrayed,” said Tatum about the injury. “I was one of those guys that I never wanted to sit … I feel like I took care of my body. I did not deceive the game. When it was time to rest, I rested. When it was time to work or lift or get a treatment or anyway, I felt like I was always above my routine.
“So, for it to happen, it was like, guy, it was not supposed to happen to me. And for a while, I was a bit like – it may seem dramatic, but I remember saying to my mother, as’ mom, I could have finished. I do not know if I will be able to overcome this or if I am ready for this challenge.” You know, I just felt defeated.
The mental tenacity and the fight that led Tatum to become one of the best five players in the world finally started, and he took the recovery routine, working towards a return. Both in his interview with NBC News and in his appearance on Today with Jenna & FriendsHe stressed that this is a daily process. And he wouldn’t exclude a return this season.
“Like (day -to -day) how I approached this process, it’s like, guy, the most important thing is to recover completely. I’m not saying I’m not playing this season.
“I do not withdraw this from the table, because, you know, for me as a competitor, every day I go to the bodybuilding room and I do rehabilitation, I work towards something, obviously, returning to 100%, whenever it is.”
If Tatum returns this season could depend on several factors, the most important being his body and his recovery, but also where the Celtics are being eliminated in the last stages of the season. Is it worth the risk? It is a Boston team that sent two key veterans of their championship team – Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday – due to the second restrictive apron of the NBA. There are expectations in the league circles that it will be a bit of a sabbatical year for Boston, which will reorganize next summer with a healthy tatum and Jaylen Brown and will do another title. The new owner Bill Chisholm said that he would do everything it takes to this team to win.
Tatum will be at the heart of that – and maybe even be part of this season. He has a goal, he will not exclude him.
