The night started slow, but it ended with a bang.

After being sidelined for 10 months with a torn Achilles, Jayson Tatum finally made his season debut for the Boston Celtics against no less than the Dallas Mavericks, the same team that they beat to win the 2024 NBA title. 

The Celtics were perfectly fine without Tatum, running up a 42-21 record that has them second in the East. Now that he has returned, they should be considered the odds on favorites to win the conference this year.

The six-time NBA All-Star started the game for Boston then proceeded to miss his first six shot attempts. He had an air-ball three and a miss dunk–clear signs of rust following the long layoff. 

Once he finally got going though, there was no turning back.

Tatum finally made his first basket of the game–a putback dunk off a miss by Payton Pritchard–with 1:16 remaining in the first half and immediately followed it up on the next possession with a step back three-pointer. He finished the game with 15 points on six-of-16 field goals, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and a steal in 27 minutes as the Celtics ran away with a 120-100 win.

While he was far from his usual All-NBA self, it was quite a promising return from such a long layover.

With Tatum back in the fold–and with all due respect to the first seed Detroit Pistons–Boston now the clear cut team to beat in the Eastern Conference. They have already been quite spectacular this year, with Jaylen Brown playing at an MVP level, Pritchard and Derrick White taking on larger roles, and several others thriving with more responsibilities. Tatum adds a completely different dimension to this team and puts them in a tier of their own with regards to the East’s championship aspirants.

Of course, the road ahead will not be without its speed bumps. Boston is likely to exercise caution with Tatum for the remainder of the regular season as recoveries from Achilles injuries are typically tricky. It will also be interesting to monitor how well the reintegration of Tatum goes, especially when considering Brown’s breakout year. Tatum should take a backseat behind Brown at least for the remainder of the year while it poses a tricky dilemma for this team’s front office heading into the future.

The road back will take time, but the early signs are encouraging. The Celtics have already proven they can win without Tatum, and now their ceiling will be pushed even higher with him back on the floor.