BOSTON — Jayson Tatum is practicing with the Maine Celtics on Monday as he continues to recover from an Achilles rupture he suffered last week, the Celtics shared in an official press release.
Tatum will be assigned to participate in portions of the Maine Celtics practice at the Auerbach Center this afternoon. Following this practice, Tatum will be immediately recalled to the Boston Celtics, where he will continue his rehab process. Fellow Celtics players Hugo Gonzalez and Amari Williams are joining Tatum at practice.
It’s been almost 9 months since Tatum first suffered the injury, and the Celtics have never offered a recovery timeline.
It’s not unusual for athletes to be assigned to their G-League affiliate as they near a full recovery; earlier this year, for example, LeBron James practiced with the Los Angeles Lakers’ G-League affiliate, and five days later, he made his season debut as he recovered from an offseason bout of sciatica.
Similarly, Kristaps Porzingis practiced with the G-League last fall as he rehabbed an offseason ankle surgery, and six days later, made his season debut.
That doesn’t mean that Tatum’s return is just a week away — but it does open the door for that possibility.
Last week, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said that Tatum still has “a ways to go.”
“When it’s right, then we’ll all sit down and talk about it,” Stevens said. “There’s still no force from us. There’s no pressure from us. But there’s also not gonna be any of us saying, ‘Well, why doesn’t he just take another week?’ When he’s ready, he’s ready.”
Without Tatum, the Celtics are 34-19, owners of the Eastern Conference’s third-best net rating.
