NBA fans feared the worst had happened when Jason Tatum saw him leave the court between the Knicks and Celtics late in the fourth quarter of Game 4.
The New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics in a thrilling game 4 at Madison Square Garden. However, the headline came just minutes before the buzzer.
Later in the fourth quarter, Jason Tatum appeared to be in a violent fall on the floor and began grabbing his leg. He was rescued by the locker room and seen sitting in a wheelchair.
Several members of the Celtics medical staff walked through Tatum and looked very concerned about him being seriously injured.
They’re not just worried because a few NBA fans believe Jason Tatum’s playoff run is over. This injury can be very long.
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Several fans took him to X and reacted to Jason Tatum’s injury. One fan wrote, “Contactless injuries are always bad news.”
Another fan said, “We’ve all seen a ball long enough to know what it is.”
While one fan has given a full diagnosis and writes, “Achilles went, man. You hate seeing it.”
However, another fan wrote, hoping that the injury would not be serious, “it looks like he’s not coming back. Hopefully that’s not.”
Some fans were ready to call the series A-Rap. One fan wrote, “I’m tired of seeing damn things. Hopefully it wasn’t that serious, but definitely not good looking. Congratulations to the Knicks in the series’ victory.”
Another fan reflected those feelings and said, “Yeah, it ended for Boston.”
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If the fans are in the prognostic lawsuits, the Celtics cannot rely on Jason Tatum. Achilles’ tears are one of the worst injuries in basketball, and it takes nearly a year to recover.
So the Celtics need to try to overcome a 3-1 deficit without one of the best players. That can be difficult considering the Knicks seemed more hungry than the series.
But they still have enough talent for a roster without Tatum to achieve this. Incumbent final MVP Jalen Brown needs to step up and deliver at the Celtics’ high level.
Players like Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White will also need to take on a bigger role next week. But that may not be possible as the Celtics lose their next game and the series could end.