Paul Pierce reacts to Jayson Tatum Celtics return: ‘East is in trouble’

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Paul Pierce reacts to Jayson Tatum Celtics return: ‘East is in trouble’

Daniel Donabedian, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Sat, Mar 7, 2026 ·

3 min read

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Paul Pierce reacts to Jayson Tatum Celtics return: 'East is in trouble' appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

BOSTON — Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce knows a thing or two about comebacks. In 2000, just ahead of the 2000-2001 campaign, the former Celtic was stabbed 11 times and had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. Less than two months later, he suited up for the season opener and helped the C's capture a 103-83 win over the Detroit Pistons .

Pierce proceeded to play every game that season in one of the most miraculous recovery stories in NBA history. Current Celtics star Jayson Tatum is now writing his own comeback story that's similarly impressive — and Pierce is all for it.

Almost 300 days after rupturing his Achilles, Tatum made his season debut on Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden. He finished the 120-100 win with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists, coming just three assists shy of a triple-double.

Pierce, who's been somewhat of a mentor to Tatum, was ecstatic to see his successor return to the parquet.

"He's back," Pierce said in a singsong voice while recording Tatum's postgame interview. "The East is in trouble, y'all better watch out because here we come. Let's get it."

Following Tatum's dazzling debut , the Celtics improved to 42-21 and remained in second place in the Eastern Conference. While Tatum was sidelined for 62 games, his teammates did more than just carry on. They exceeded the low expectations placed upon them during the preseason and put together a stunning couple of months of basketball.

The six-time All-Star witnessed this from the sidelines and felt inspired, appreciating the passion the undermanned Celtics were playing with night in and night out.

"Can't commend the group enough, and the coaching staff, for how they've attacked this season, how they've competed and just played together every single night," Tatum said in his postgame press conference. "I don't know if there's a team that's been more fun to watch this season play as a unit."

As Tatum experienced joy while watching his teammates, the rest of the NBA may have been expressing some fear . If the Celtics were that good without Tatum, what can they accomplish with him?

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd witnessed the answer to that question on Friday.

"As he knocks off some rust, he makes the Celtics a contender, and they were having a heck of a year while he was rehabbing, so to get him back, they're going to be a team that's going to be hard to knock out," Kidd said after his squad dropped their sixth game in a row.

The Celtics' ceiling will truly be put to the test in the coming week, as they face three straight contenders on the road: the Cleveland Cavaliers , San Antonio Spurs , and reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder .

No matter what happens, Tatum is simply focused on getting back to full strength.

"I've still got a long way to go," Tatum admitted. "But this was a really big step."

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