Jayson Tatum is back and it should scare the NBA

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum returned from a ruptured Achilles tendon this week and looked like he hadn't missed a beat...for the most part.

The TD Garden crowd roared on Friday, March 6th when Jayson Tatum was introduced in the Boston Celtics starting lineup against the Dallas Mavericks. It had been ten months for Tatum since playing in an NBA game and his early jitters showed. He was short on everything from three's to even dunks! It was a different look for the Celtics superstar, but his explosiveness and playmaking ability were still there.

Soon it all fell into place.

With a little over one minute left in the first half against Dallas, Tatum took to the skies off a Payton Pritchard missed three pointer and slammed the basketball through the hoop with authority. As he hung on the rim with one arm, his face conveyed a message to everyone.

'I'm back.'

It was what Tatum needed to get started. He knocked down threes, rebounded like a demon and kept piling up assists. He finished that game vs Dallas with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Flirting with a trouble double in his first game back from one of the most devastating injuries you can have as an athlete was not what anyone expected.

Then again, Jayson Tatum isn't what anyone expected.

He's constantly raised the bar for himself and the squad around him. No one expected a 19 year old out of Duke University to come in his rookie year and lead the Celtics to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. LeBron James. To keep upping his game every year even when criticism kept piling on top of him year after year. He's a leader in every sense of the word and the Boston Celtics are better for having him.

The NBA should be weary.

The Celtics were already number two in the east before Tatum's return. Jaylen Brown has been playing out of his mind this year (a surprise to no one who truly has watched him since he came out of Cal). Tatum played his second game of the season in Cleveland against the Cavaliers and finished with 20 points, three rebounds and two assists. He's still getting his feet under him and it's clear to see he's got some conditioning that will come back around, however, it's extremely encouraging that he's playing fearlessly and physically looks like himself.

A healthy Tatum gives the Celtics offense a huge burst not just with scoring, but that playmaking ability that was mentioned. His ability to draw multiple defenders and his vision that allows him to kick it out for the open shot gives the offense a lift and makes things easier for everyone.

By the time the playoffs roll around in April, Tatum will have over a full month of NBA basketball under his belt post-injury and should be looking more and more consistently like himself. That's dangerous for a league that was banking on the Celtics being bad. The east wasn't able to fully take advantage of an undermanned Boston squad and let them climb to one of the top spots in the conference. The league better watch out.

The Celtics are coming.