BOSTON – Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum said he is still struggling with the aftermath of VOCID-19 more than a month after he initially tested positive for the virus.
“I think it affects your breathing a little bit,” Tatum said after the team’s shooting practice Tuesday afternoon before receiving the Denver Nuggets. “I’ve experienced some games in which, I don’t mean (I was) struggling to breathe, but, you know, you get tired a lot faster than normal.
“Just by running up and down the track a couple of times, it’s easier to run out of breath or get tired a lot faster. I’ve noticed it since I had COVID. It’s something I’m working on.
“It’s improved since the first game I played, but I still handle it from time to time.”
Tatum, who averages 25.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 21 games this season, missed five games in addition to the full week – the Celtics stopped for not having enough players available to play – then to test positive for COVID -19 in early January.
And, since he returned to Chicago on Jan. 25, his numbers have been noticeably lower than before he became ill. In the 10 games Tatum played before being left out, he averaged 26.9 points with 47.4 percent of total shots and 43.8 percent from the 3-point range. In the 11 games he has played since returning, he has averaged 24.5 points per game with 42.7 percent overall shooting and 36.5 percent from the three-point range.
In those games since he returned, Tatum’s minutes have also increased slightly, from 34.6 minutes per game before to 36 minutes later.
Tatum said he’s talked to Celtics coach Brad Stevens about how he feels, and said it’s not a constant thing he struggles with. Instead, it’s something that comes and goes, and with what he’s trying to deal with while playing with a condensed NBA schedule, all while averaging 35.3 minutes per game, the maximum of his career.
“It’s something we’ve talked about,” Tatum said. “And it’s not like it happens in every game or I feel it in the whole game. It’s just a few stretches where the breathing is a little out of control and I talk to the medical staff and the coaching staff about it. Obviously, has improved since the first game I came back and played.
“I guess it’s a long process. I talked to other guys who’ve had it and they say they experienced the same thing and it just gets better over time. But no matter how much we play, I guess it takes a little longer.”
Upon entering Tuesday night’s game against Denver, Boston has lost four of its last five games and seven of its last 10, falling to .500 this season. Much of this stretch has occurred without the help of the Marcus Smart wing, which stays out with a calf distension. This adds to the fact that star escort Kemba Walker is only available for half of consecutive matches due to his ongoing knee problems, and the continued absence of second-year winger Romeo Langford, who has yet to played this season due to wrist surgery that was performed out of season.
As a result, Stevens has relied heavily on Tatum and Jaylen Brown, his two young stars, to take over. While Tatum is struggling with the persistent effects of VOCID-19, Brown missed two games recently from knee tendinitis.
Stevens said it’s a tough challenge to balance the minutes when the team is struggling as it is and struggling with the lack of depth in the wing.
“Sometimes my 15-year-old son asks me when I get home, ‘Listen, can you, you know, why isn’t Tatum here? Why isn’t Brown here?’ Because they have to sit down sometime, ”Stevens said laughing before Sunday’s defeat in Washington. “You can’t play these guys 48 minutes a game every night, can you? So you’re balancing that.
“We have to do everything we can, as you said, to manage the big sight and the game itself. And that’s a challenge. That’s a real challenge when you’re a team that’s really a .500 team, and you’re coming and going, and you’re not necessarily falling behind, you’re not really creating separation, you’re just, you know, you’re one of many.you can get to the point where that balance can be a little better.
“But I’ll say this: it’s a lot easier to get that balance if you have 10 games above .500, or if you’re 15 games above .500 or whatever. But it’s something we have to keep in mind.”