"Far further ahead of where I thought he was going to be" - Bill Simmons on how good Jayson Tatum has been since his return
Many doubted Jayson Tatum would return this season after his Achilles tear during the 2025 NBA playoffs. Even once it seemed physically possible, some questioned if his return might disrupt a Boston Celtics team thriving with a new identity.
But after two games, Tatum is proving his doubters wrong. Even the believers are impressed by his performance, including Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe .
"He's just far further ahead of where I thought he was going to be. Were you expecting 27-29 minutes and real intensity?" Simmons asked Lowe during the recent episode of the "Bill Simmons Show."
"I'm legitimately shocked at how good he looks," replied Lowe. "I wasn't sure of how much like ‘Is he going to be 60 percent or Tatum, 80 percent of Tatum?’ I don't know what percentage he's at now. But 50 minutes into this or whatever it is, he's so far ahead of where anyone could have reasonably expected him to be. It's legitimately shocking to me."
JT impressed, especially on defense
In his first game back, Jayson Tatum narrowly missed a triple-double, falling short by just three assists. He followed that with a 12-point first quarter in his second game, finishing with 20 points after scoring 15 in his season opener. Beyond the statistics, Tatum logged 27 minutes in each of his first two games — and had the matchups not been blowout victories, he likely could have played more despite being under minutes restriction.
Perhaps the most underrated part of Tatum’s first two games back is his defense. He's held opponents to 30 percent from the field while posting an individual defensive rating of 96.5 percent, which is 4.8 points per 100 possessions better than Victor Wembanyama ’s league-leading 101.3.
Against the Cleveland Cavaliers , Tatum spent 75 percent of his defensive duties guarding James Harden , Donova Mitchell, Jaylon Tyson and Dean Wade and held them to a combined six points on 25 percent shooting over 38 possessions.
Simmons' worry for Tatum
After two games, Tatum is averaging 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in 27 minutes of playing time. His shooting percentage (37.5 percent) and 3-point percentage (29.4 percent) are both well below his career averages, but it's just a matter of time before he gets his touch back.
Still, Simmons has raised the question of whether Tatum will return to the level of play that defined his pre-injury performance.
"I don't know if it's ever going to 100 percent come back to where he was, like just from him flying around and challenging everything. And maybe it will. Maybe it'll be just reps. But even the stuff we saw today, like coming 10 months after an injury like that, it really went from ‘Uh-oh, is this going to be a lot more awkward and weird and depressing than I was anticipating’ to ‘Oh my God, Tatum is back. Holy s–t,’" he added.
With Tatum back in the lineup, many expect the Celtics to be strong contenders in the Eastern Conference and potentially challenge the Oklahoma City Thunder if the two meet in the NBA Finals. While the path ahead will undoubtedly be challenging, Tatum’s return is a significant boost, both for the team’s performance and for restoring the Celtics closer to their pre-injury form.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
