"I just felt really anxious. It's been a long time coming just to get to this point, many nights and days that I've dreamed about this moment. The anticipation, the crowd - it's been 42-and-a-half weeks since I last played in an NBA game. Just trying to get caught up on the speed and everything. I just kind of felt like I was a step off or moving too fast, but the game started to slow down as I started to relax a little bit."
"Once he settled in, though, he began to show flashes of his old self. A putback dunk kicked off a sequence of five straight makes. His passing was sharp, his presence on the boards impactful, and he held up well on the defensive end. He eventually blew a kiss to the crowd after he drilled a 3-pointer."
Jayson Tatum made his season debut for the Boston Celtics against the Dallas Mavericks in a nationally televised game at TD Garden. After nearly ten months away, Tatum experienced significant anxiety and nerves during the first half, missing his first six field-goal attempts and struggling with the game's pace. He described feeling anxious and a step off, attributing this to the long absence and anticipation of returning. As the game progressed and he relaxed, Tatum demonstrated his capabilities with sharp passing, strong rebounding, and solid defense. He finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists in 27 minutes, showing flashes of his elite form despite some physical limitations like a missed dunk.
Read at Boston.com
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