Jaylen Brown hints at upcoming challenges after Jayson Tatum return

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Jaylen Brown hints at upcoming challenges after Jayson Tatum return

Souichi Terada · MassLive

Sat, Mar 7, 2026 ·

3 min read

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BOSTON — There were plenty of great vibes for the Celtics as they blew out the Mavericks on Friday in Jayson Tatum ’s comeback game. Every time Tatum scored, C’s fans showered him with applause as he returned from his ruptured Achilles tendon.

Tatum’s comeback was always going to be about just getting back onto the court. While it was clear Tatum wasn’t his All-Star self yet, he also showed he’ll be an asset for the Celtics ahead of their playoff run. That’s also what Jaylen Brown partly focused his attention on as the C’s have a tough three-game road trip coming up.

“To see him coming back is the start of his testimony and the start of his story arc to getting back to who he is and where he wants to be,” Brown said. “I’m excited. We have a challenge in front of us this year. I think challenges is what makes you great. Our challenge is trying to lead another deep playoff run. So balancing all that at the same time is welcoming our brother back onto the floor.”

The Celtics improved to 42-21 after Friday’s victory, maintaining second place in the East. They already looked like East contenders without Tatum, and now Boston gets to add its face of the franchise back into the fold. Tatum flashed what he does best Friday, putting up 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in his 27 minutes.

But there will naturally be an adjustment period for both Tatum and the Celtics going forward. It’s not necessarily just incorporating him back into the lineup, but also seeing how his body responds to the wear-and-tear of NBA games. The C’s have 19 games left in the regular season to smooth out any wrinkles from having Tatum back.

Tatum knows that, which is what he spoke about during a team meeting Thursday. The Celtics are significantly different compared to the last time he was on the court. While he’s been around the team during his lengthy rehab, it’s still different as a healthy player.

“It was more just being vulnerable, showing my appreciation to the team of how they have played this season, how they’ve motivated me,” Tatum said. “Every single day, the joy and competitive nature that they displayed, I wanted to be a part of that. And I say it all the time, going through rehab and being injured is lonely.”

The Celtics enjoyed their feel-good home victory in Tatum’s return. That was going to be the main storyline whenever Tatum returned to the court. But like Brown pointed out, teams will be gunning to knock off the Celtics going forward. The C’s are one of the favorites to come out of the East, but there will be challenges ahead.

The next three games are immediate tests for the Celtics. They face the Cavaliers, Spurs then Thunder on the road over the next week. Returning Tatum is great, but those will be high-intensity games against playoff contenders. It remains to be seen what the plan for Tatum will be going forward, but the Celtics will jump right into the deep end with their star back on the court.

“It’s going to test all of our patience,” Brown said. “It’s going to test our humility. All of the above. We just gotta be prepared for there to be some ups and downs. I’m prepared for that. How you handle adversity will be kind of a measure. So this is a big week coming up. Obviously, we still got some working some things out to do.”

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