Now that the news has come out that Jayson Tatum has ruptured his Achilles tendon and had surgery to fix the issue today, the question turns to what the Celtics will do now.
The Knicks have a 3-1 series lead over the defending world champions, and with Game 5 happening tomorrow at TD Garden, and without their best player, how the Celtics respond is the big question.
I look for them to come out with a fire lit underneath them and a desire to prove the doubters wrong, as they are now the hunter instead of the hunted due to what has transpired over the last 48 hours.
Jaylen Brown is making big bucks, and it will be on him to step up and play big games from this point forward, as he can ill afford to get in foul trouble like he did in game four.
Losing your best player is not something you are prepared for during the playoffs, but such is life.
How the Celtics respond will be how this season is measured.
Realistically, the Celtics still have a team capable of beating New York and coming back to at least force a Game 7, as at that point, the pressure is all on New York if they blow a commanding series lead. Also realistic is the fact that the Celtics have the talent to beat either Indiana or Cleveland in the next round without Tatum as well. Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, and sparkplug Payton Pritchard, who comes off the bench to give Boston an immediate spark, are a good way to start and to believe in coming back from this series deficit.
Times are tough right now for Boston, but champions are made not through an easy path but through the struggles that are presented to them.
The battle for Boston is knowing that before Tatum went down with an injury, they should have won the first two games of this series. That in itself is something that they can use to light a fire underneath them in game five as they want the season to continue and not only do their brother proud and try and win for Jayson but to also show the world that the Celtic Way is not about making excuses but about overcoming the odds to become champions. The road ahead for this year’s Celtics team is long, but it’s a road that they can travel down and still achieve success. I know Celtics fans are feeling frustrated by blowing two games, and then losing their franchise star is just icing on the cake during this time.
Game five is do-or-die, and everybody will have to chip in for this series to go to game six.
Steal games five and six, then you’re facing New York back home at TD Garden, and it will force the Knicks to exorcise their playoff demons to advance to the conference finals.
All of this is strictly a prediction and a hopeful one at that.
Still, look at the stats and lineups. You can see that with a team like Boston, which has championship experience and multiple All-Star appearances among its players, even losing your first option means your second, third, and so on are still quality options to consider.
Time will tell how this season is remembered in Boston.
It could be remembered as the season of what if, or as the season the Celtics defied all the odds and won championship number 19.
Game five awaits, and so does the opportunity to grab glory, and soon we will know the answers to all the questions Celtics Nation has about this team.
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