When Jayson Tatum toppled to the court docket, writhing in ache and grabbing at his proper foot late within the Celtics’ Jap Convention semifinals Sport 4 loss to the New York Knicks, it appeared like a doubtlessly season-altering damage.
Boston’s worst fears at the moment are confirmed.
Tatum had surgical procedure Tuesday to restore a ruptured proper Achilles tendon that can sideline him for the rest of the playoffs, the crew introduced.
The Celtics offered particulars on the extent of Tatum’s damage and introduced information of the surgical procedure a day after the six-time All-Star went down within the Celtics’ 121-113 Sport 4 loss to the New York Knicks. It places the hopes of the defending champions repeating and Tatum’s enjoying standing for subsequent season doubtful.
They didn’t give a timetable for his return, however stated a full restoration was anticipated.
When Kevin Durant tore his Achilles tendon in the course of the 2019 NBA Finals, he wound up lacking all the 2019-2020 season.
The 27-year-old Tatum is main the Celtics in factors (28.1), rebounds (11.5) and assists (5.4) per sport for the second straight postseason.
The Knicks lead the Celtics 3-1 of their Jap Convention semifinals sequence. Sport 5 is in Boston on Wednesday night time.
Tatum was carried off the court docket with 2:58 remaining in Monday night time’s sport. The Celtics had simply turned the ball over and as Tatum moved for the free ball, his leg gave out and he went down. He buried his face in a towel in apparent ache whereas grabbing at his leg above the ankle after the noncontact damage.
Tatum scored 42 factors, his highest complete throughout these playoffs and probably the greatest all-round postseason performances of his profession, earlier than he was harm.
The damage was Tatum’s second this postseason. He missed Sport 2 of Boston’s 4-1 first-round sequence win over Orlando with a bone bruise in his proper wrist. It was the primary time he’d missed a playoff sport in his profession.
Now, Tatum’s teammates will face a frightening job that few groups earlier than them have pulled off in the event that they need to break an NBA report six-season drought with no repeat champion.
Groups holding a 3-1 lead within the NBA playoffs have gone on to win 95.6% of the time, with solely 13 groups in 293 tries ever getting back from the deficit to win the sequence.
“Clearly, all of us understand in our heads what this might imply. This a part of the game – it’s powerful,” Celtics heart Kristaps Porzingis stated Monday. “We have now to maneuver ahead. He don’t need us to be over right here unhappy and never play our greatest basketball.”
To turn into the 14th crew to beat a 3-1 deficit, the Celtics will want huge performances from a roster that has a number of gamers who’ve handled accidents this postseason.
All-Star Jaylen Brown entered the playoffs coping with a proper knee situation that has slowed him at occasions. Porzingis additionally has been slowed at occasions by the lingering results of a viral sickness that sidelined him for stretches within the second half of the common season.
Brown stated Monday that his confidence stays excessive.
“Prepare for the subsequent one. Get able to battle. Prepare to come back out on our dwelling flooring and do what we have to do,” Brown stated. “That’s the purpose. Nonetheless the purpose. We’ve acquired sufficient on this locker room. So, I consider in my guys.”
No matter how this sequence or the remainder of the playoffs play out for Boston, Tatum’s damage possible will alter how the franchise confronts this coming offseason.
Together with this 12 months, the Celtics’ payroll shall be over the wage cap and make them a luxury-tax crew for the third straight season. Meaning they are going to be hit with the “repeater tax” for being over the cap threshold in three out of 4 seasons.
Their present payroll for subsequent season is on observe to come back in round $225 million, which might imply a tax invoice subsequent 12 months of just about $280 million. The mixed potential $500 complete price ticket could be a league report.
It’s unclear whether or not the crew’s incoming new possession will need to preserve paying these hefty taxes to keep up the present roster after agreeing to a purchase order in March that’s anticipated to have a ultimate value of a minimal of $6.1 billion.
Tatum signed an NBA-record five-year, $314 contract final July that can start subsequent season. Brown is enjoying underneath a five-year, $304 million deal that kicked on this season.
That signifies that trimming participant wage is a risk possession may discover this summer time.
And with Tatum probably lacking all of subsequent season, it may speed up the entrance workplace’s timeline for transforming the present roster with an eye fixed towards the long run.
