The Jayson Tatum return has been riveting. Every shot attempt, rebound, pass, and even high-five over these first seven games has been scrutinized. The overall early returns on the Tatum comeback have been sensational; however, his performance against the Memphis Grizzlies is a good reminder that he still has a way to go before he fully regains his superpowers. 

Coming out of the game against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, the Jayson Tatum and Boston Celtics Hype Train had left the station. The three-point efficiency, the explosive drives…it was easy to envision the Boston Celtics playing in the NBA Finals, with Jayson Tatum playing an integral role.

For at least another couple of days, the hype train has returned to the station for some maintenance.

Tatum’s performance against the Grizzlies doesn’t need to be belaboured. It was easily his worst game since returning – missed layups, sloppy turnovers, questionable shot selection, and a general lack of the intensity that has become a staple of the 2025-2026 Boston Celtics. I don’t want that assessment to be misconstrued. Tatum played poorly by his standards. We have to remember how incredible Jayson Tatum was before he ruptured his Achilles. In his final game before the injury, Tatum had 42 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks in what was one of the best games anyone on the planet played last season. It was a rough outing against the Grizzlies, but that doesn’t mean Tatum hasn’t already exceeded expectations since returning. 

It has been 313 days since Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles, and he is playing impactful NBA basketball for the two seed in the Eastern Conference. That’s the real story through seven games. In 29.6 minutes per game, Tatum has put up 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. The headline from that stat line to me is the 29.6 minutes per game. And over his last four games, Tatum is playing 31.6 minutes per game. I think if you told Jayson Tatum on the night of his injury that he would be back playing 32 minutes a night in just 313 days, both Jayson and Celtics fans would be overjoyed. They might even be tempted to fire up the duckboats. 

The fact that Tatum being out there playing basketball is the biggest win of all, but Tatum isn’t just out there. The Celtics have been crushing teams while Jayson Tatum has been on the court through seven games. With Tatum on the court, the Celtics are beating teams by 14.1 points per 100 possessions. And that’s despite Tatum struggling to put the orange ball in the basket consistently.

How is Tatum impacting the game at such a high level despite not being able to score efficiently? A significant factor is Tatum’s impact on the team’s turnover rate. The 2025-2026 Boston Celtics already led the league in fewest turnovers. Tatum has only amplified that strength. When Tatum has been on the court, the Celtics’ turnover percentage has been 9.5%. When Tatum is off the court this season (now 2,718 minutes), the Celtics’ turnover percentage has been 12.6% — best in the league. This year’s Celtics success has been driven by their dominance on the margins. Jayson Tatum has been a margins machine for years. He suppresses the team’s turnovers, he limits opponents’ offensive rebounding rate, he creates three-pointers for himself and others, and he defends without fouling. It’s almost as if Jayson Tatum was built in a lab for Mazzulla Ball. 

The most encouraging aspect of Jayson Tatum’s return has been his driving. There is still a lack of burst relative to pre-injury times. However, Tatum’s ability to get to the basket this early in his return is encouraging. Through seven games, Tatum is averaging 9.7 drives per game and shooting 54.3% on them, not far off his 2024-2025 season (10.3 drives per game, 56%). Tatum already being able to collapse defenses consistently should be a terrifying sign for opposing teams. 

One aspect of Jayson Tatum’s game that has been a glaring struggle since returning has been his scoring efficiency. Tatum currently has a true shooting percentage of 51.3%. For context, Tatum had a true shooting efficiency of 59% over his previous four seasons. The lackluster scoring efficiency can be mainly attributed to his cold start from three-point range. That number currently sits at 29.4%.

I’m not sure if we can attribute this cold shooting to rust or the Achilles injury. Sometimes players, and specifically Jayson Tatum, go through cold stretches. Derrick White has been ice-cold for large stretches this season. Tatum himself had a true shooting percentage of 50.5% and a three-point percentage of 26.3% in the 2024 NBA Finals. It’s hard to say if Tatum is missing shots due to getting back into rhythm or due to standard shooting variance. 

Lastly, the answer to the question that everyone was waiting for: could Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, a duo who have played over 14,000 minutes together, co-exist after Jaylen Brown submitted his resumé for the All-NBA First Team? A huge surprise to no one who has been paying attention to the previous eight years of Jays era basketball, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have been slaughtering opposing teams when they share the court through seven games. In 94 minutes on the court together, the Celtics are beating teams by 17.7 points per 100 possessions. Death, taxes, and Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum winning basketball games.