Friday night at TD Garden was already going to carry some intrigue.

The Boston Celtics (41-21) are entering the final stretch of the regular season, the schedule is tightening, and every game now feels a little more connected to what April and May might look like.

But when Boston hosts the Dallas Mavericks (21-41), the storyline that hangs over everything else is simple:

Jayson Tatum might finally be back.

Boston’s franchise star was upgraded to questionable on the team’s latest injury report after spending the past nine and a half months recovering from the ruptured Achilles he suffered during the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks (40-23).

If he’s cleared to play, it would mark Tatum’s first game action since May 12 of last year - the end of a methodical rehab process that has unfolded largely behind the scenes.

The Celtics have made it clear throughout that timeline that there would be no rushing the process. Head coach Joe Mazzulla and president of basketball operations Brad Stevens have repeatedly emphasized that the decision ultimately rests with Tatum himself, with the organization waiting until he both physically and mentally felt like “JT” again.

In the meantime, Boston has done more than just tread water.

Behind an MVP-level season from Jaylen Brown and the continued emergence of a deep supporting cast, the Celtics have quietly compiled one of the best records in the league while operating without the player who has been the face of the franchise for the better part of a decade.

Friday’s matchup adds another layer to the story as well.

For Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg, the night represents his first professional game at TD Garden - a building he grew up visiting as a kid from Newport, Maine, roughly three hours north of Boston.

And if Tatum does suit up, Flagg will get to share the floor with one of the players he says helped shape his game.

“I grew up watching him. He’s special,” Flagg said Thursday night after the Mavericks’ loss in Orlando (33-28).

If everything breaks the right way for Boston, the Garden crowd may be treated to a night of two homecomings - and the Celtics could get their biggest piece back just as the season’s most important stretch begins.

Dallas Mavericks at Boston Celtics Information

Game Date: March 6, 2026
Game Time: 7:00 PM ET
TV Channel: ESPN (National), NBC Sports Boston (Boston) & KFAA-TV (Dallas)
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub (Boston) & 97.1 The Eagle (Dallas)
Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Live Stream: Fubo & NBA League Pass

Missed any of Wednesday night’s loss to the Hornets? Here’s everything you need to know:

The Celtics have rarely come out flat this year, but that’s exactly what happened Wednesday.

Charlotte dictated the pace from the start, racing out to an early lead and building a 21-point advantage by halftime.

Boston shot just 33% from the field in the opening 24 minutes and struggled badly from deep, while White’s 17 first-half points accounted for nearly all of the offense.

Defensively, the Celtics were constantly a step behind. Charlotte’s uptempo attack generated easy transition opportunities and open perimeter looks, leading to 12 first-half three-pointers on 48% shooting. Eight different Hornets players knocked down a three before the break, prompting several frustrated timeouts from head coach Joe Mazzulla.

Boston’s frontcourt rotation has been a strength recently, particularly after the addition of Nikola Vucevic.

Wednesday was a different story.

Vucevic and Neemias Queta struggled to keep pace with Charlotte’s speed and spacing, frequently getting caught in transition or out of position in pick-and-roll coverage.

Offensively, neither player found any rhythm. The duo missed nine of their first 10 shots as Boston failed to take advantage of its size advantage.

Mazzulla even turned briefly to Luka Garza for extra minutes, but nothing seemed to stabilize the position.

Charlotte’s hot streak is becoming harder to dismiss as a fluke.

After beginning the season 4-14, the Hornets have gone 23-11 over their last 34 games and now sit at 32-31 following Wednesday’s victory.

Their offense has become one of the most explosive in the league, with multiple shooters capable of stretching the floor and pushing the pace.

They currently sit just two games behind Philadelphia (34-28) for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference - meaning a first-round matchup with Boston is a realistic possibility.

The Celtics will see Charlotte twice more before the regular season ends, which could go a long way in shaping the playoff picture.

Brown has been Boston’s most consistent scorer this season, averaging a team-high 29 points per game.

But Wednesday wasn’t his night.

The All-Star forward missed 12 of his first 17 shots and struggled to generate efficient looks inside the arc, finishing just 6 of 15 on two-point attempts.

With Boston’s three-point shooting also faltering, the offense never found a rhythm capable of keeping pace with Charlotte.

When Brown and the Celtics’ perimeter attack are out of sync, nights like this can happen - even during an otherwise dominant stretch of the season.

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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.