BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum believes he would have been able to play if the Boston Celtics advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs.
But when the Celtics star experienced stiffness in his left knee before his team’s Game 7 home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, it was a sign he had to put his body first.
That was a decision he stands by, even if his absence ultimately played a big part in Boston’s unexpected run to the No. 2 seed in the East ending with its earliest exit from the playoffs since the 2020-21 season. The Celtics lost a playoff series for the first time (32-1) when leading 3-1.
“I just experienced some tightness back there (in his knee). It was just unfortunate timing, but I guess it was a little bit to be expected,” Tatum told reporters Sunday.
Just 10-plus months removed from Achilles tendon surgery, Tatum’s return on March 6 and how well he played in 16 games to end the regular season turned a Celtics team that had overachieved without him into a 56-game winner with championship aspirations.
Though this latest ailment relegated Tatum to the role of a spectator during Saturday’s loss, the good news it was on the opposite leg as his surgically repaired Achilles tendon.
“I was away for 10 1/2 months and then I came back and I’m playing every other day. And I was playing 36 to 40 minutes. So it’s not unusual that something would come up,” Tatum said. “It’s just tough because rehab was going well the entire time. I guess it was inevitable at some point I was going to have to deal with something. It just kind of came at the worst possible time.”
What Tatum said he wasn’t feeling, though, was regret.
“It’s just unfortunate. I worked really, really, really, really hard to come back in the fashion that I did and play at the level that I was playing at. So for it to end the way it did was a really tough pill to swallow.”
That disappointment is also tempered with how much Tatum believes he proved to himself, still not even a year since he ruptured his Achilles in Boston’s conference semifinals loss to the New York Knicks.
“All things considered, for me to even be able to come back and play at the level I was playing at – even at 80-85%, right? One of my legs is still smaller than the other one,” Tatum said. “So now that I get a long offseason to really get back to 110%, I guess that’s the silver lining of it all.”
The biggest barrier he overcame this season was a mental one, he said.
“I’m proud of the fact that I was able to prove to myself that I could play this game at a very, very high level,” Tatum said. “Even not being 100% of myself or what I’m capable of. So now, checking that box off mentally, because that was a question in my head and there were doubts of will I be able to be the same player? Will I be able to play at a high level after this injury? Now I’ve proven it and showed that, even at 80-85% of myself.”
While this season highlighted that Jaylen Brown could raise his game to an MVP level and lead the Celtics without Tatum, the first-round loss to the 76ers also exposed that the roster as constituted needs tweaks to be ready to be in the championship conversation again going forward.
That could be as simple as president of basketball operations Brad Stevens working some salary cap magic to improve the supporting case around the duo, or possibly making a bolder move like pursuing Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Whatever lies ahead, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla believes this team will be better because of both the highs and lows it experienced.
“When you go after greatness you have to accept the other side of that,” Mazzulla said. “Too many times it’s all about winning, winning, winning. But you have to surrender to the idea that when you’re going after that you’re going to fail. We failed by not winning, but you have to stick to the process of being able to do that.”
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