As the Celtics enter an important offseason, fans will also hope Jayson Tatum’s rehab from a ruptured Achilles tendon goes well. Tatum suffered the injury in Game 4 against the Knicks, forcing him to miss the final two games of the second-round series loss.
Fortunately, the surgery went well as Tatum is on the road to recovery. Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell, on an appearance on the Pat Bev podcast, had an optimistic update when it came to the Celtics star he’s worked with the past two years.
“It’s good, man,” Cassell said. “When he come back, he can be even better. He can observe the game of basketball and work on everything he needs to work on. I’m looking forward to the journey with him. Top-5 first-team All-(NBA) this year. When he comes back, he’ll be first-team All-(NBA) again. He’s that good.”
C’s president Brad Stevens said Tatum getting the surgery a day after the injury should also help him get back on the court. So it was at least fortunate that the Celtics were in New York City already, allowing Tatum to get world-class care so quickly.
Cassell joined the Celtics in the summer of 2023, coming from the 76ers. He’s been with the Celtics for the past two seasons now, including this past year as Joe Mazzulla’s lead assistant. He’s also well-regarded around the league as one of the top assistant coaches. Of course, Cassell also enjoyed a successful playing career over 15 years. He was named an All-Star and won three rings, including the 2008 title with the Celtics.
“It’s hard,” Cassell said of Tatum’s injury. “But when you got a great group of guys who understood the situation we were in. It’s like, ‘Guys, we’re down 3-1, OK. We’re going to get another lead, so let’s just take advantage of the lead.’ Because we had leads every game. Basketball gods are just not happy sometimes. We’ll grow from this. As a staff, we’ll grow from this as a team. We’re the Boston Celtics, baby.”
