LOS ANGELES — Jayson Tatum appeared on the floor moments before Celtics practice on Saturday and addressed photos showing him seemingly taking part in team activities in San Francisco. He clarified that he didn’t take part in a practice, and rather participated in an optional workout with several Celtics teammates, including Luka Garza.
Joe Mazzulla would not say whether Tatum, who added that he hasn’t practiced since his Maine session, would practice with the team on Saturday as he continues to progress in his on-court work and overall recovery process.
“He’s just continuing to get better,” Mazzulla said. “Working on his reads and then continuing to hit his checkmarks in the weight room and then in the treatment room as well. The main goal is just making sure he gets 100% healthy and continues to get better and better.”
“It’s just trusting the group that we have around him,” he continued. “And taking it step-by-step. So, just making sure we stick to that as much as we can. He came out of the Maine practice pretty well, and so we’ll continue to see it from there. It just depends as he continues to hit those check marks, whatever they may be.”
The latest comments from Tatum and Mazzulla maintain the secrecy the Celtics and Tatum’s team have operated with through the final stages of his Achilles recovery. Several reports indicated over the past week that Tatum’s still uncertain whether he’ll return or not this year, and despite speculation around an NBC-flexed Celtics start time on March 1 against the Sixers, he said that he does not have a return date in mind at the moment.
Mazzulla said the Celtics hadn’t practiced since Tatum’s Maine Celtics session, which went well. Boston doesn’t have a plan for him to join their actual practice activity other than continuing along his normal progression. That would seemingly indicate that there’s no imminent return expected for the Celtics star in the near future.
“Work out, see how you recover the next day and then you just make a plan from there,” Tatum said. “It was a little five-on-five (on Wednesday). It’s tough to go into detail on every single thing I’m doing every day, but I will say I’m just getting acclimated more and doing little things with some of the guys out there, but it’s all part of rehab and just going with the plan.”
Tatum added that he feels better than he did the previous day, and that’s all he’s focused on at the moment rather than a specific return date. He stressed that it’s important that he put himself in position to have a return be a conversation, and continued stressing he won’t play until he’s 100% and he wouldn’t indicate what percent he’s currently at.
The Celtics arrived at Santa Barbara Prep for practice alongside Tatum, who took some light shots on the court before the session began. He sported a team-issued shirt and sweatpants, put on his sneakers and spoke to the media before the practice closed once it began.
“I feel like I’m beating a dead horse,” Tatum said. “I’m taking it one day at a time. This is something that’s very serious. The injury that I had is just a long journey. For me, it’s just easier to take it one day at a time and see how I progress from there.”