Ironically, the Boston Celtics ‘ success this season without Jayson Tatum has only added firewood to the burning expectation for Tatum’s return. As Boston has started the 2025-26 campaign with a notable 14-9 record (and appear to be improving weekly), the notion of this group being lottery-worthy is beyond laughable, and the playoffs are on every Celtics fan’s menu.

So is a Tatum return before the end of the regular season, especially for fans that have been tracking Tatum’s recovery and his early-season comments that he’s aiming to come back before the campaign’s up.

What’s most important, though, is Tatum’s long-term health. That’s why it’s foolish to lean too heavily into the expectation that he’ll be back this season, an expectation that can easily — and dangerously — transform

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