My hope is that if he comes back, they ease him into the rotation. Even if you’re in a dogfight in the middle of the first round. Don’t risk Tatum’s future for this one postseason. Let the new guys get some good playoff experience and get ready for a real title run next year.

With all that said, I have a hard time believing Tatum is gonna be denied. Even with his recent comments about being unsure if he should return. You can tell when you see him on the bench. He’s a hooper. He wants to ball.

But I’m a big proponent of going for a title whenever you can. We see how hard it is to win. If you have a chance, you go for it.

And then, how much time is he realistically going to play? It’d be wild to ask him to play 30 minutes plus in the playoffs coming off an Achilles tear. Teams will try to target him, knowing he’s not in top-tier shape.

But is it smart to rush Tatum back this year? Even if he returns at the end of March, it’s going to take at least 15 to 20 games for him to get into game shape and fit into what the team has going right now. You’re asking him to find his rhythm while you’re trying to win a first-round series.

They’re tied with the Knicks for the 3 seed. The argument for bringing Tatum back is that no one’s got a lock on the East. Detroit is real, but in a playoff series, it could become a one-man show. The Knicks are probably the safest bet, but they have flaws (6-game winning streak notwithstanding)

And Jaylen is the best forward in the league right now. Idc who you put him up against. On both sides of the court, I'm taking him over anyone else. The production was always gonna go up. I didn’t see this level of playmaking and efficiency coming though.

I was convinced this was gonna be a gap year for the Celtics. I was dead wrong. Coming into the season, it looked like they’d have maybe 5 guys they could really trust. I didn’t see Garza, Gonzalez, Walsh, and Minott being reliable rotational players.