Jayson Tatum’s return was essentially perfect: 7 takeaways as Celtics blow out Mavericks

Nearly 10 months removed from a bleak night in New York when the Celtics lost both Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals and their superstar to a torn Achilles, Jayson Tatum returned to action on Friday, and his return — which overshadowed an impressive 120-100 victory by the Celtics over the Mavericks — was everything the team could have hoped.

Here are the takeaways.

Tatum started, which was only right

To the surprise of essentially everyone, Joe Mazzulla not only told ESPN’s Jorge Sedano before the game that Tatum would not have a minutes restriction, he also started Tatum — and perhaps even more startling, Mazzulla offered that tidbit up freely to reporters before the game.

“Don’t say I didn’t do anything nice for you guys,” Mazzulla quipped.

Starting Tatum may have been a surprise, but it was clearly the right call.

The lights dimmed, and public address announcer Eddie Paladino began calling the Celtics’ starting lineup. When his name was announced to a massive roar, Tatum rose — a small smile playing on his face — and made his way through the high-five line, leaping to meet Jaylen Brown back to back, the duo’s traditional pre-game routine which had been conspicuously absent for the last seven months.

Tatum jogged to the sideline and performed a handshake with Deuce, then he went to the scorer’s table and pulled his jersey up high — flashing “Boston” to a TD Garden crowd that was watching him with rapt attention and exploded once again. As he turned, he folded his hands and closed his eyes, and his prayer requests didn’t require a lot of imagination.

God. His family. His teammates. The TD Garden crowd. All of the appropriate entities were acknowledged, and Jayson Tatum was ready — once again — to play NBA basketball.

Tatum had to start, because sometimes, sports aren’t about logic.

To be clear, we’re not saying that Mazzulla’s decision wasn’t logical — presumably, he had every clearance in the world from every medical professional employed and contracted by the Celtics, and presumably, he had a hundred good basketball reasons to put Tatum in the lineup immediately that were coldly logical and unemotional.

So logic was almost certainly involved, but it wasn’t the reason why starting Tatum was “right.”

The reason starting Tatum was “right” is because it would have felt … off to see him return to the bench after declaring him available and then announcing the starting lineup. The crowd would have cheered the starters, but the beginning of the game would have been an afterthought. The buzz would have been impossibly tense, and the roar would have been ear-splitting when Tatum finally made his way to the scorer’s table, but under the harsh lights of a mid-first-quarter game, his return would have been robbed of some of its ambiance.

Tatum’s return deserved Eddie Paladino yelling, “aaaand FROM DUKE!” He deserved the pulsing music. He deserved the flashing lights, and the literal spotlight that followed him.

In short, Tatum deserved all of the immense fanfare that TD Garden can provide, and starting him made sure that his return carried the right amount of gravitas.

Tatum looked rusty — he also looked really good

The reaction to Tatum was, of course, noteworthy. But Tatum also had to play basketball, and everyone watching certainly expected to see rust.

The rust was unquestionably there, especially at the beginning of the game, but so was the talent. Tatum immediately made a crisp pass to Sam Hauser that sprang the sharpshooter for a 3-pointer, which Hauser missed — a shame, given how close Tatum finished to a triple-double. Tatum spent much of the first quarter deferring and dishing to others, which wasn’t a bad sign given how good he is at passing. He racked up a few assists — including an encouraging drive and dish to Neemias Queta — but he also airballed a 3-pointer and left a big one-handed dunk on the front rim, which was probably just as well because if he had made it, he might have started a riot inside the arena. When the camera panned to him early, Tatum could be seen looking winded (but not in any pain).

Defensively — and again, we cannot stress enough that this is both understandable and to be expected — Tatum was given the least demanding assignment, and when he found himself switched onto more dynamic playmakers, he couldn’t stay in front. When he sat down for the first time, he was 0-for-6 from the field.

Then, near the end of the second quarter, he dunked, and TD Garden erupted.