Jayson Tatum 'Sore' After Ankle Sprain, Says Celtics Will Be 'Cautious' With Injury
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum "just sore" after suffering a left ankle sprain in Monday's 113-95 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
He said to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne the team is "going to be cautious" with the situation.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla also downplayed the severity of Tatum's injury:
The 6'8" forward is coming off a third straight season in which he was a first-team All-NBA member. He averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, and he had his second-highest true shooting rate (60.4 percent) ever, per Basketball Reference.
The Celtics' title run is what fans will remember from Tatum's 2023-24 campaign, though. He nearly put up a double-double per game (25.0 points and 9.7 rebounds) as Boston finally got over the hump and captured an 18th championship.
Everything is in place for Boston to return to the NBA Finals since the team brought back all of its key players.
Kristaps Porziņģis' offseason surgery presented a minor hurdle since he didn't get back onto the court until late November. But his performance hasn't suffered much as a result of the ankle injury.
In general, the Celtics have lacked the sharpness they displayed a year ago, with Porziņģis saying in January they've gone from playing like a lion to a "house cat."
From that standpoint, losing Tatum to an injury is obviously less than ideal. But Boston is in little danger of falling out of the top six in the East, and it's the strongest team in the conference on paper in any seven-game playoff series.
As long as Tatum is healthy for the postseason, the Celtics are in business.
