Tyronn Lue put it perfectly when he said, “It’s tough because you want to see him [Jayson Tatum] do well, but not against you.” And then the universe played a joke on him: the Clippers got clipped 121–118 by a Celtics team that didn’t even have Tatum on the floor. The guy is still rehabbing his Achilles, yet somehow his presence hangs over the game like a plot twist waiting to happen. But here’s the real kicker: Ty and Tatum are family, which makes that quote a whole new level of hilariously honest.

You cheer for your people, sure, unless their success means you’re walking out of the arena with an L.

After the game, Lue peeled back the curtain on Jayson Tatum’s recovery, saying, “At yeah just being very supportive you know just being positive, just talk about the process and you know what he has to go through and but when he comes back being a better player, you know areas he needs to work on in this game to be a better player and just to see the game from a different like know when you sit back and watch the game and you’re not playing, you can kind of see what your value is, what you can bring to the team which you can do better and so he’s been great. You know spirits are been great and he’s know doing a great job exactly as we have.”

Jayson Tatum is out here flirting with medical history, trying to beat the classic 9–12-month Achilles timeline without actually rushing anything. The Celtics lost him at the worst possible moment last postseason, and between the torn tendon and Boston’s cap-clearing trades of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis, the team’s been wobbling at 7–7. 

But the recovery videos tell a different story: Tatum moving, pivoting, testing that leg like a guy who refuses to sit still. Friday’s practice clips showed him pushing harder than most players fresh off an Achilles tear.

And then there was that early buzz on the Pat McAfee Show, where Shams Charania said the Celtics hadn’t completely ruled out a return this season. Suddenly, “maybe next year” didn’t sound so set in stone anymore.

Still, Tatum keeps his tone cool as ever. “No pressure,” he said on media day. “No pressure to return back any sooner than when I’m 100% healthy… The most important thing is that I’m 100% recovered and healthy whenever I do come back.” No panic. No rushing. Just a superstar making sure he doesn’t turn one injury into two. 

And yet, every glimpse of him doing more than expected sends Celtics fans into investigative mode. Because let’s face it, a healthy Tatum instantly boosts Boston’s ceiling in an Eastern Conference where they’re sitting at 11th.

But for Tyronn Lue, this whole thing is more personal than basketball updates and medical timelines. He’s literally family, cousins with Tatum’s father, Justin, and he’s watched “Little Jay” morph from a quiet kid into one of the league’s smoothest killers. Back in 2018, Lue said, “Just seeing Little Jay when he was 6 or 7 years old and now to who he is today is crazy.” Before the NBA lights ever found him, Tatum was just the kid sprinting around Lue’s backyard.

And to now see that even while Tatum sits out, Celtics teammates still credit him for shaping their identity, proof that his presence carries weight even in street clothes.

Jayson Tatum’s sideline leadership

Jayson Tatum is basically running a side gig as Boston’s unofficial assistant coach. Jaylen Brown keeps raving about it, saying, “He’s been super active. He’s been around. It’s been dope to see…. He’s been like an extra coach, in a sense.” And he’s not exaggerating, Tatum hasn’t taken the usual mental vacation players do during long rehab stretches.

He’s on flights, in film rooms, at practices, and glued to the bench like he never left the rotation. That’s why the Celtics still feel him even without the 26.8 points and 8.7 rebounds he put up last season.

Joe Mazzulla has been equally stunned. The coach said Tatum’s on-court leadership may be on pause, but his off-court influence is louder than ever. “He’s done a great job leading off the court with the work ethic of his recovery… being on the bench, having those communications… that’s been invaluable to the locker room.” Translation? The guy is holding the room together while he can’t even lace up.  

And it’s not just the stars noticing. Rookie Hugo Gonzalez couldn’t believe how present Tatum had been, saying he didn’t know many players with a long-term injury who travel everywhere with the team. Jordan Walsh summed it up best: Tatum has become a “coach/hype-man/leader” rolled into one. Boston may be waiting on his Achilles, but the leadership part? That’s already back at full strength.