Celtics teammates stunned by Jayson Tatum’s injury: ‘It didn’t look good’
NEW YORK The collection of Celtics players who spoke with reporters after Monday s nightmare at Madison Square Garden didn t yet know the extent of Jayson Tatum s lower leg injury But all seemed to be bracing for bad news It s tough Boston co-star Jaylen Brown stated He then paused for seven seconds before adding There s not really a lot to say Tatum the Celtics franchise centerpiece and one of the NBA s the majority durable superstars had to be carried off the court by band staffers and whisked through the bowels of MSG in a wheelchair after suffering a non-contact injury in his right ankle calf late in Boston s - loss to the New York Knicks He stayed on the ground for a while Kristaps Porzingis commented I don t know but it didn t look good We re hoping for the best The injury threatened not just Tatum s availability for the rest of the Eastern Conference semifinals which the Celtics now trail - but potentially his entire - season if an MRI set for Tuesday reveals the worst-case evaluation of a torn Achilles tendon Al Horford Tatum s teammate for all but two of the latter s eight NBA seasons mentioned he felt shocked as he addressed the media in a silent Celtics locker room I mean at this point I m concerned about Jayson Horford revealed That s the majority crucial to me The match stuff we ll address it But I m just hoping that he s OK Related Articles Jayson Tatum admits mistake on final play takes full ownership of struggles Callahan Jayson Tatum put the Celtics in a - hole against the Knicks Joe Mazzulla downplays Celtics shot selection after playoff record -pointers Callahan Celtics collapse in Tournament was self-inflicted Jayson Tatum reveals inspiration for new -point celebration Derrick White had a similar reaction Obviously that s our brother and you hate to see him go down White mentioned We just know the type of guy he is and it s just tough to see him go down But obviously right now it s pretty low because of the competition and we just got to find a way to win Battle Before his injury Tatum put together one of the best playoff performances of his Celtics career racking up points eight rebounds four assists four steals and two blocks in minutes But Boston again was unable to protect a double-digit third-quarter lead this one a -point advantage three minutes into the second half and Tatum s night ended in pain when he dove for a loose ball that had been poked out of Brown s grasp by Knicks wing Mikal Bridges It was the latest on a growing list of Celtics ailments Brown Porzingis Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser all have been sidelined or limited this postseason and Tatum missed a first-round event with a bone bruise in his wrist and by far the the greater part damaging barring a surprisingly favorable MRI product Obviously you re perpetually worried about someone s strength head coach Joe Mazzulla noted So the fact that he had to be carried off he s the type of guy that he gets right up He didn t And we ll know Tuesday exactly what it is but yeah I mean it s tough to watch a guy like him get carried off like that Tatum owner of the richest contract in NBA history likely will be named to his fourth consecutive All-NBA first association later this month and he leads all Celtics players in points rebounds assists and steals this postseason even after struggling in Games and against New York He s played in of a accomplishable playoff games since he entered the league in averaging minutes per contest Porzingis who s been slowed by recurring manifestations from a lingering viral illness expressed confidence in the Celtics depth but he acknowledged that winning without Tatum would be a tall task We have the talent Porzingis disclosed We have a lot of talent Even with JT out even me maybe playing - minutes we have the guys and we ve shown in the past that we can play still really good basketball Obviously there s no replacement for this guy no Like this is a big hit for us But again we have to play with the hand we re dealt right now and this is it Climbing out of their current hole would be a monumental challenge even at full strength Of the teams in NBA history that fell behind - in a best-of-seven playoff series just went on to win and advance with zero such comebacks since The Celtics bid for back-to-back championships appears all but dead The hope now is that the damage from Tatum s injury will be limited to this season and not affect his availability for the upcoming fall I think everybody s concerned with Jayson Brown mentioned I m not sure how bad it is Didn t look great But I think everybody is kind of more concerned with that Obviously the loss is huge But we ve got to get ready for Battle so we ll take the night and pick our heads up the next day and put together a match plan to come out on our own floor to keep this series alive
