The Celtics put basketball on the side. During a brief period, everything that concerned them was Jayson Tatum as a human.
After having broken his Achilles tendon in match 4, Jayson Tatum suffered his operation in New York and has since stayed in the city.
After their victory in match 5 against the Knicks away the elimination and returned the series to Madison Square Garden, the Celtics saw Tatum in person – Thursday evening at the Team hotel – for the first time since the injury.
“We haven’t talked about basketball at all,” said Payton Pritchard after the Celtic shot before match 6. “It’s bigger than basketball now. It’s just about seeing how it is as a person, how it is dealing with stuff. The basketball side, we just manage this.
The injury is likely to the Tatum touch for the whole next season.
“It was really good to see it,” added Pritchard. “It seemed to be in a very good mood. Obviously, he is probably about to be crazy for some time now. When you see one of your brothers, your teammates are going through a situation like that, you just want to be there to comfort and (do) everything he needs.”
Tatum had been one of the most sustainable stars in the league before the injury, with an average of 73.1 games per regular season during his eight years in the league.
“It fears to see someone get off like that that doesn’t deserve it,” said Sam Hauser on Friday morning. “But he would like nothing more than for us to continue to win. He seems to be in a good mood.”
Although the Celtics did not want to talk about basketball with Tatum, his absence has certainly changed their way of playing.
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Tatum is one of the heaviest players in the league – in the playoffs, 29.6% of Celtics’s property led to a tatum isolation, the second plus of any player behind James Harden entering the match 6 of Friday.
Without him, the Celtics played faster in match 5. This is a plan that they will probably have to follow next year as well.
“Jayson is an incredible player,” said Pritchard. “He is a great player who can attack insulation and matches.
