[Turpin] Jayson Tatum in his return: 15 points, 12 rebounds, 7assists, 1 steal, +20. He looked like Jayson Tatum. An impressive return, and a standing ovation as he checks out
I am a Pacers fan so it was super inspiring to see Tatum play well
Hali is next!! At least not against us 😉
wishing nothing but the best for hali
All love from us to Hali❤️❤️
We will see Hali balling again, thats for sure
We love the pacers way, we love Hali, and we will always say that was by far the toughest series on the way to the title!! Hali can do this too. Can’t wait to see him back on the court.
Look at Tatum man, so inspirational
Fucking love yall and Hali foreal. He next up foreal.
I feel like only reason Hali is returning this year is because his injury was more than a month after Tatum and obviously their record differences.
But he will be back. Hes young also
Also Indiana isn’t in the championship race - there’s no benefit in bringing Hali
Respect the hell out of Hali. He’ll be back soon enough.
We need Hali back with all of his powers. That post season run was inspiring. Basketball needs that.
From a Celtics fan Hali is a dog we need that matchup in the playoffs. Will make a fantastic series.
We love the Pacers here and share a common enemy: the entire state of New York
Much love for Tyrese and the great state of Indianna thanks for Brad and Larry too!
How has been Hali’s recovery? Haven’t heard as much about him this year
Playoffs next year with both 0’s healthy gonna be lit
Absolutely absurd! I never expected this kind of first game back. Almost fucked around a got a triple double, insane
Right back to his anti-triple-double ways
I almost would’ve been more concerned if he got one lol
Get him on the court and he’s trouble…
Ice Cube special
2nd in the league averaging 12 rebounds per game. What a legend
Lowkey got emotional when he hit his first 3 and the arena announcer did the “JT FOR THREEEEE”
Honestly this was beyond an A+ game from him all things considered. His impact felt so immediate and natural, and it was in Tatum fashion doing everything to contribute to winning basketball even when having trouble scoring at first (which should be expected). He was making all the right plays on offense and was back to being that elite facilitator that takes our offense to new heights. I forgot how much I enjoyed watching him play. Once he hit that putback and went for that step back three right after, I knew his mental block was gone. Now he just needs to work off the rust the next month, and it will be a fun playoffs.
The skill level he showed was incredible, so great to see. I loved seeing this more pass-focused version of him, making quick decisions getting off the ball. And the handle looked great, and once he knocked the rust/nerves off the shot looked good too, idk if any of his makes even hit the rim. Defensively he has some room to get better (compared to before) but that will come.
100%, but the defense was to be expected. He looks a bit slow, and I think even the nerves / adrenaline for how big this return was also tired him out more than normal. I think he can get back, just needs some time.
You could see the exhaustion on his face
It’s sort of unbelievable how important it is to just see the ball go through the hoop when you’re struggling/got a mental block, then once he got the putback you knew that step back corner three was gonna be string music 🎶 💚🍀 shit had me up off the couch, man what a moment. Love JT
100%. Especially with a few of his misses (the rejection from the rim, airball, etc), it just starts weighing on the mental. And we all know Tatum is just a cash cow for unfair criticism from other NBA fans, so I can’t even imagine how he was feeling about that in his shoes. Glad he got an easy putback to break that block.
I also forgot how great it is to watch him play. JB obviously has been going crazy in his absence but it doesn’t hit the same without both of them out there.
100%. I’m afraid people will look at that as a slight to JB, because they just always have to be against each other, but it isn’t. JB has been amazing, but Tatum when the offense runs through him can be elite.
We need both of them together to make the real magic happen
#Welcome back King 👑☘️
winning the title this year is going to be sweeter
This is exactly the type of JT we need for the playoffs. He doesn’t have to put up 30 a night, though that would be nice, he just needs to continue to do everything he’s been so elite at even if that means he’s less focused on scoring. Having another playmaker, facilitator, shot creator out there all in the form of 6’10 strong as hell forward is going to be great for this team. I couldn’t care less that it wasn’t his most efficient game ever he’ll get some of those back as he gets more in the flow, do not expect him to get stuffed by the rim again lol
his stat line was much like his dallas ones in the finals crazy enough & we seen what that got us
Man this feels good
https://preview.redd.it/904x9tkrbjng1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b7dcb1c26184778a1f62c309a3ae7430fb3b538
he looked great!
Great to have him back. Keeping my fingers crossed.
His shot looked rusty as hell (especially in the first half.
But adding a 6’9” super athlete who can add 12 boards and 7 assists? It almost doesn’t matter how much he scores if he can do that.
💚💚💚💚💚
A double-double on his first night back? I’ll take it.
he was fine physically but obviously very rusty. in a month he’ll be near 100% for round 1
I’m giggling like a girl 🥳
Nearly a triple double in less than 30 minutes after being out 10 months. My goat
IM OVERREACTING OK?? (Incredible stat line for first game back)
LFG.
Just here cause I’m from St. Louis supporting the hometown boy, turn up my guy!
Man that first half was a bummer but holy shit did he lock in
Not a Boston fan, but that’s impressive…especially since he was like 0-5 when I switched channels earlier
I see me!
Just give us the title now.
Sigh of relief.
Coming off an injury. I thought he played great. He was very timid though playing defense. You can see it. I think once he has several games under him. He will be more comfortable
There was a point where you could see him hesitate to go after a loose ball
Ya JT
On our way to banner 19 with JT being the mvp of the finals.
rest of the league so screwed now
This used to be a career ending injury. This was incredible to watch.
Glad for Tatum’s return, but does this sink JBs MVP season?
Sadly there’s no way they were giving it to JB anyways even though he is quite deserving of it. He’s not liked by the media :/
🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿
Not pessimistic but I thought he was favoring the leg and limping a bit. Wicked happy he’s back.
I honestly didn’t see that and I was looking for it. I was actually really surprised at how well he was moving.
I thought he move pretty well. Just favoring it when rebounding and moving offensively. They will take it slow on him.
I feel it was more mental hurdle than physical. Like he was nervous trusting it. I didn’t really see him limping.
You could tell when he dunked, hung on the rim then came down on one leg instead of two