What gap year? The Boston Celtics are 15-9 and the No. 3 seed in a tight Eastern Conference behind the MVP-ballot play of Jaylen Brown this season.

Now it looks more and more like the Celtics could have Jayson Tatum back from his torn Achilles in time for a playoff push. Tatum posted a video on Wednesday of his return to playing one-on-one.

Tatum also posted "soon" on his Instagram stories.

While the Celtics will want to protect Tatum from himself, a return this season appears increasingly likely, with coach Joe Mazzulla saying the timeline is ultimately up to Tatum. Here is what Mazzulla said after Wednesday's practice, via NBC Sports Boston.

"It's all up to him," Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said... "At the end of the day, his health is the most important thing, his process is the most important thing.

"You trust him, trust the team that's around him ... and then you just kind of go from there. So it kind of just all starts (with) where him and his team think he's at."

In an Eastern Conference where no team has run away and hid (although the Knicks are starting to look like they could), why not Boston? The Celtics, with Tatum back and strong play from Brown and Derrick White — with Neemias Queta holding down the paint and Jordan Walsh emerging on the wing — would be as big a threat as anyone in the conference.