The Celtics shifted their focus away from basketball for a moment, prioritizing their concern for Jason Tatum as a person.
Following a ruptured Achilles tendon in Game 4, Tatum had surgery in New York City and remained there during his recovery.
After the Celtics’ Game 5 win against the Knicks, which pushed the series back to Madison Square Garden, the team finally saw Tatum in person at their hotel on Thursday night since his injury.
“We didn’t discuss basketball at all,” Payton Pritchard remarked after the Celtics’ practice ahead of Game 6. “It’s about more than basketball now.”
The injury might sideline Tatum for the entirety of next season.
“It was really great to see him,” Pritchard continued. “He looked pretty good. I can imagine he might be going a bit stir-crazy. When a teammate or a sibling faces something like this, you just want to support them however you can.”
Before the injury, Tatum had been known for his durability, averaging 73.1 games each regular season over his eight years in the league.
“It’s frustrating to watch someone go down, especially when they don’t deserve it,” Sam Hauser said on Friday. “But he wants nothing more than for us to keep winning. He seems to be doing alright.”
While the Celtics aimed to avoid discussing basketball with Tatum, his absence has undeniably impacted their gameplay.
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Tatum is one of the league’s most isolated players. In the playoffs, 29.6% of the Celtics’ possessions ended with Tatum in isolation.
Without him, the Celtics adopted a quicker pace in Game 5, a style that may be essential for next year as well.
“Jason is an incredible player,” Pritchard added. “He can dominate in isolation and really makes a difference. When you have talents like that, you want to utilize them. We need to maintain our movement, though.”
