The Latest Bit Of Copium Has Dropped As Jayson Tatum Is Already Rehabbing At The Celtics Practice Facility

Nathaniel S. Butler. Getty Images.

It has officially been 28 days since we all saw Jayson Tatum go down with his popped achilles, and while in some ways it feels like time is flying by, I still find myself unable to watch any sort of Tatum edit/highlight without experiencing a shotgun blast to the chest. I'll be doing the most random shit and suddenly find myself in disbelief that this injury really happened. Folding laundry, emptying the dishwasher, it doesn't matter. My brain will randomly go to that Game 4 and I get upset all over again. 

I'm not sure how long that's going to last, but my guess is until his first game back which will probably be in October of 2026…..so that's great.

But you know what does help? Any and every sign of progress. Give me any sliver of copium and I am inhaling that shit so fast it'll make your head spin. At this stage, hope is all we have. We hope that Tatum comes back the same guy. We hope the recovery is fast. We hope that him getting the surgery so quickly will make all the difference.

In reality, nobody knows. All we have is copium. Sometimes, that's Tatum himself putting positive energy out into the universe

and sometimes it's Torrey Craig sniping him with a quick 5 second IG video of Tatum at the facility

This is how desperate we as fans are for anything remotely positive in this fucked up situation. That clip technically showed us "nothing" in terms of his actual rehab process, but do you think I care? Hell no! I see a guy in great spirits, which when it comes to an injury like this, is a MASSIVE part of the equation. The mental hurdle can sometimes be just as tough as the physical aspect of coming back. Seeing Tatum at the facility and around the guys smiling might seem like nothing to most, but it means something to me dammit. 

I can only imagine we're not too far away from an update like we saw with Dame not too long ago, who is also going through his own Achilles rehab following a similar timeline

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For strictly propaganda and overall fanbase mental health purposes, I'm going to need Tatum/the Celtics to do the exact same thing whenever he's ready to get on that machine. 

The reality of the situation is the Celts are entering a pretty massive offseason where this Tatum injury now impacts whatever Brad Stevens decides to do. I think it's fair to suggest that the Celts as we knew them these last 2 years are over, regardless of the level of change that happens. It's a depressing and uncertain time, no two ways about it. Add in the reality that we most likely won't be seeing this guy for a year

and it all stinks out loud. That's why at least for me, having this sliver of positivity around Tatum and his injury is like catnip. Give me all of it. Let me block out all the shitty things we're probably about to experience these next few months and let me enjoy this moment of coping.