Late within the fourth quarter, Jayson Tatum went down with a non-contact leg harm. The type you by no means need to see.
Accidents are the worst a part of skilled sports activities.
Gamers spend their total lives sacrificing, grinding, and dealing on their video games. In the event that they’re fortunate, they make it to the massive leagues. Nonetheless, the upper degree you attain, the better the chance of harm. It’s the character of the beast. Nonetheless, that doesn’t cease it from sucking.
From a fan’s perspective, you spend years, even many years, rooting for somebody, watching them develop and mature within the seek for greatness. In some ways, they grow to be ingrained in your expertise.
For me — and I assume many others — Jayson Tatum is that participant. I’ve watched 99% of the video games he’s performed in, with the opposite 1% being Staff USA video games that bought no protection the place I’m at. I’ve trawled by a whole bunch of hours’ value of his recreation tape, following his growth, enhancements, successes and failures.
To be sincere, I may say that about most long-tenured members of the roster. But, for some motive, Tatum has been the man I’ve adopted the closest, maybe as a result of he’s probably the most proficient. Or possibly as a result of I relate to him as somebody who grew to become a father at a younger age.
So, waking as much as discover out he’s probably ruptured his Achilles tendon is a troublesome capsule to swallow. Not solely due to the implications that this harm may have on the Celtics, each now and sooner or later, however as a result of he’s a man we cheer for and have watched develop right into a top-five participant on the planet.
“Tonight is hard,” Jaylen Brown mentioned throughout his postgame information convention. “I believe everyone’s puzzled… I’m unsure how unhealthy it’s. It didn’t look nice. However I believe everyone is extra involved with that (than the loss).”
He’s a participant who has given every part to Boston and its fanbase. An ironman who fights to play in each recreation. A consummate skilled who steers away from scandal and unhealthy press. And the primary participant since Paul Pierce — if not Larry Fowl — that you simply felt had a real likelihood of positioning himself among the many biggest Celtics of all-time, each within the rafters and on Boston’s imaginary Mt. Rushmore.
Don’t get me fallacious, Tatum’s profession isn’t over. However whether it is an Achilles rupture, he will probably be out for some time. I imply, my daughter is likely to be graduating highschool (16 over right here within the UK, and he or she turns 15 later this yr) or be near it, earlier than he’s enjoying 30+ minutes per night time once more. That’s a wild realization.
Nonetheless, Tatum may probably be dealing with a protracted street again. The hope is that he follows the Kevin Durant trajectory and returns as a still-elite celebrity able to spearheading a franchise. The excellent news is that, like Durant, Tatum’s recreation isn’t predicated on elite athleticism or an electrical first step. He’s a skills-based expertise with elite processing pace and ridiculous fast-twitch reactions. An Achilles tear gained’t sap a lot, if any, of these abilities.
We could have to just accept that Durant is an outlier. Maybe we may checklist Klay Thompson in that checklist, if he didn’t have the ACL accidents to go together with it. Thankfully, we’re in a complete new period of medical and sports activities science, and Tatum takes care of his physique, so I’m selecting to stay optimistic.
Nonetheless, Tatum might want to modify. Assuming the worst, I doubt we ever see him push again towards load administration once more. Nor do I count on him to shoulder such a wide-ranging load the place he initiates the offense, leads the scoring and is among the many group’s main rebounders. His strategy will change, as will his impression, for higher or worse.
Whereas all of us await the official prognosis, social media will probably be awash with notions of tearing down the roster, or buying and selling Jaylen Brown (amongst others) seeking a re-tooling course of. In any case, not solely did the Celtics lose Tatum to harm, they surrendered one other huge result in go down 3-1 towards the New York Knicks.
“The loss is the loss,” Al Horford mentioned postgame. “Extra importantly, it’s Jayson I’m apprehensive about.”
These reactions are honest. All people is entitled to their opinion, simply as they’re entitled to their private fan experiences. Nonetheless, the collection isn’t over. There may be nonetheless no less than yet one more recreation to be performed. Counting out the Celtics, particularly now, can be dangerous. Brown can have some extent to show, and if Kristaps Porzingis was ever going to point out up on this postseason, now must be the time.
We can have MONTHS to interrupt down what may or couldn’t occur with this group throughout the summer time. I’m positive there will probably be a wealth of dialogue factors and a continuous myriad of commerce speak.
For now, although, I need to dwell within the second. I need to wait and see how unhealthy issues actually are. Solely then can we begin to compartmentalize what the following 1-2 years have in retailer for us all.
As for any evaluation of Monday’s recreation…It didn’t really feel proper to put in writing about something apart from this. I wished to put in writing about this. There’s all the time tomorrow to look again on the protection, or no matter else stands out. At this time, although, nicely, right now is about Tatum and as a lot because it pains me to confess, later this week will most likely be about how this group appears by the beginning of subsequent season.
Hopefully, when the inevitable harm replace drops, we study that issues aren’t as unhealthy as they first appeared. Both method, although, it’s by no means good to see somebody go down like this, and it’s worse when it’s a participant you’ve watched flourish for years on finish.
Accidents are the worst a part of sports activities. They’re merciless, random, and indiscriminate. However in addition they remind us why we care.
Heal up, JT.
CelticsBlog graciously allowed this text to be cross-posted from my rising “Celtics Chronicle” e-newsletter.
