The even bigger indication was the fact that during All-Star intermission they played a short film about Tatum’s recovery and “journey” to get back to the court, sort of like they are building it up.

Bill Simmons might be the only media person whose opinions and guesses are allowed to be posted as fact or news on this sub lol. The other one I’ve seen occasionally is probably Zach Lowe.

Dru Smith obviously isn’t Tatum, but everybody saying that Tatum shouldn’t return and this is way too soon just didn’t pay attention to what happened with Smith.

He ruptured his achilles on 12/23/24 and returned to action in a preseason game on 10/4/25 - so just over 9 months. And he was available for the start of the actual regular season on 10/22/25.

With Tatum’s surgery coming in record time and all the hype around his recovery, it’s not insane for him to go out and at least get some reps 10 months after injury. He likely shouldn’t be playing 40 minutes per night, but he has been ramping up for a couple weeks now with 5-on-5 practices. He isn’t just coming off of crutches or anything. The biggest issue he faces now is mental and fully trusting his achilles again

What does he think is happening 

Tatum returning?

It got moved to a NBC National 8pm game because it’s a better game on paper than the Thunder-Mavericks game that was previously scheduled.

East is fucked if Tatum even returns to like 75% of what he was pre injury.

Tatum risking alot here hope he knows for sure

Please no. We’ll get fucking destroyed again on national tv.

Wtf? They moved the game because mazzulla put baylor schierman back in the rotation. They didn’t move it because tatum might return lol

Times like this where I wish we got a black out for social media for stuff like this. I want a WWE type surprise.

I was looking at the national TV games schedule in October, pre season.

Celtics got very high volume of national TV games. Definitely top 5ish.

Very unusual for a GAP SEASON TEAM projected to tank .

Then u see the grand majority of them are in February March and April. Almost every other game.

Why would the NBA schedule in October ,a tanking team, 15 games post all-star break?

Then during the season, they added even more games …

Or, the 76ers and Celtics are a game in either direction from being a first round playoff matchup. And NBC is flexing a potential playoff preview.

The Celtics are currently the 2 seed while the 76ers are currently the 6 seed.

Celtics lead the knicks by half a game for the 2nd seed.

In the first round, the 3 and 6 seed match up.

If the knicks overtake the Celtics and the 76ers stay where they are seeding wise, that’s a first round matchup. If the 76ers lose a few more games and the C’s remain the 2nd seed, the 76ers could potentially enter the playoffs as a play in team, and then as the 7 seed. The 2-7 matchup.

NBC and Peacock have the rights to between 22 and 34 first and second round NBA playoff games, so by flexing this game to prime time and national broadcast, they’re hyping up a potential playoff series they may be broadcasting a month later.

Or it’s just a matchup of two competitive big name rivals both playing pretty well this season, and NBC smartly decided to move it to their highly promoted new Sunday Night Basketball slot.

As for the Mavs game, he might be onto something, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the popular new england kid Cooper Flagg on a Friday night actually is a pretty big draw. Resale ticket prices usually have a bit of a shift during all star break as the dust settles from the first half

I disagree on the point about the March 6th game. That one has been priced up for a while and is absolutely because of Flagg. I say this as a Mainer who looked into buying tickets for the game.

The majority of Maine basketball fans support the Celtics and Flagg. That game is the closest opportunity we have to watch Flagg live, and doubles as an opportunity to see the Cs. The same thing happened when Duke played at BC last year—it sold out, and ticket prices were stupid.

daylight saving

Haliburton like, where’s my mini documentary showin my ugly feet?

It’s because Cooper Flagg is coming to town. A quick glance at other teams ticket sites will confirm this.

If he wants to continue playing at the level he was playing at, he should not return this season

If Tatum does return this season, he’s gotta be on a HEAVY minutes restriction. Playoffs are right around the corner, it takes dudes all season to get prepared for playoff basketball I can’t imagine Tatum is ready for that right now regardless of how well his recovery is going.

It’s kind of crazy to bid up ticket prices for Tatum’s (anticipated) first game back when he’ll almost certainly be on a pitch count and only play a few minutes.

It’s been early March since the summer because people speculate he wants to be back for his birthday, which I believe is March 3rd

While I’m skeptical because the Jeff Jam Song a Long at the Boston Public Library could turn into a Phishesque show that drags on for hours, it would be the Celtics second hom game after a West Coast trip.

Pretty sure the Celtics are on the week earlier against the Lakers so maybe NBC and the league is thinking “if this is the date, we want it aired”

I guess yall haven’t heard, but Cam Payne is now on the sixers. This is the true reason for pushing the time back.

Bill is a biased Celtics fan so sorry I’m just not going to trust his judgment here

Bill is deranged, as usual. What kind of circus act team would decide weeks in advance that their rehabbing superstar would come back from major surgery at a specific date just to get more people to watch the game on TV?

Bill thinks we all obsess about Jayson Tatum like he does.

This seems dumb.

But who the fuck am I?

I woulda took the KD route but I understand what Tatum is doing.

How are people still on this whole Tatum comeback thing lmao he tore his Achilles. Risking it for a year that they aren’t going to compete anyways would be a disgusting misstep, and Boston is too well run to do that.

This is clearly just both teams doing better than expected this year, so they moved the game up.

Is that a Celtics home game? Wouldn’t you rather come back at home?

I don’t think Tatum is coming back until next year. Coming back now is rushing it. He doesn’t need to come back now. It sounds like he just started really doing scrimmages

Edit: imagine being mad I don’t want a player to come back until he’s 100% Must be Celtics fans. You aren’t doing anything this year let him heal and y’all be great next year

Risking reinjury with a sped up return to to come back and shove dudes every play (which he was doing before) because you already have no bag and now have a lingering foot issue limiting explosiveness is certainly a choice to be made

Its funny that bill has spent the entire season creaming himself over a historically fast tatum return, yet when he inevitably reinjures himself coming back too early bill will then instantly pivot to “he came back too soon”

This is not going to end well… Just like contested step back through pointers don’t end well.. he has this arrogance about him that he thinks he can just cheat the game or just skirt the process

This dude is not Kobe I don’t know who he thinks he is

The grind of the playoffs will be to much for Tatum imo. He should sit out