Joe Mazzulla addresses potential Jayson Tatum return after Celtics star’s latest rehab step

While the Celtics impress in his absence Jayson Tatum appears to be steadily progressing in his rehab On Tuesday the recovering Boston star posted a series of Instagram videos showing him playing -on- against Celtics assistant coach Tony Dobbins Tatum resumed on-court work months ago but this was the first inhabitants look at him participating in pseudo-competitive drills since he ruptured his Achilles in a playoff battle against the New York Knicks on May The videos proved him attempting a variety of shot types against Dobbins from driving layups to midrange pull-ups to stepback -pointers The pair could be seen working through a similar routine when the Celtics opened their court to reporters after Wednesday s practice Neither Tatum nor the Celtics have broadcasted a timeline for his return to contest action but he has made clear that he hopes to return at specific point this season Earlier this week Tatum posted an Instagram story with the caption Soon followed by a fingers-crossed emoji The four-time first-team All-NBA selection has been around the group since before training camp began rehabbing at the Celtics Auerbach Center practice facility and sitting on the bench for most of games It s all up to him head coach Joe Mazzulla commented Wednesday when requested about a prospective Tatum return At the end of the day his fitness is the majority pivotal thing his process is the the majority fundamental thing You trust him trust the gang that s around him he s got a great gang and you just kind of go from there So kind of just all starts about where him and his organization think he s at To me the only thing I care about is his presence and his leadership and he s given that in different avenues on the bench for games communicating with guys in film sessions traveling with us At the end of the day he s on our group He s a part of our unit He s helping us get better and then everything else just comes down to him and the people around him and you just trust that Mazzulla stated he won t try to hold Tatum back from possibly returning too soon adding There s people above me that are responsible for that President of basketball operations Brad Stevens insisted before the season that the squad would not consider reactivating its best participant until he is healthy The encouraging thing is that he is who he is Mazzulla mentioned I care more about obviously him doing his job He has a job just like we do I think it s harder to rehab than it is to be in the season sometimes because you have to do things at a higher intensity at a higher pace So he s doing that but I care more about the fact that he s in the crew he s helping us get better That s the the greater part vital thing Boston initially struggled without its central superstar opening the season with three straight losses but has since surged toward the top of the Eastern Conference standings The Celtics have won five straight and of their last At - they entered Wednesday with the third-best record in the East sitting two games behind the Knicks and four back of the first-place Detroit Pistons Led by longtime co-star Jaylen Brown who is playing at an All-NBA level through games with assistance from players like Derrick White Payton Pritchard Neemias Queta and Jordan Walsh the Tatum-less Celtics rank second in the league in offensive rating and fifth in both net rating and point differential If Boston can maintain its current level and reintegrate Tatum at certain point this spring a return in February or March which would mean a nine-to- -month recovery now seems plausible it could emerge as one of the top contenders in the wide-open Eastern Conference I mean it s not necessarily a thought we re worried about right now Pritchard revealed We re focused on his recovery If he comes back and if he comes back healthy and ready to play we know how to play with him It s not like we re bringing him in to guys he s never played with So it ll be an easy transition But right now we re just focusing on the guys that are playing right now getting better and putting ourselves in the best position practicable