During his post-game press conference, Jayson Tatum was clearly distraught. The leading player for the Celtics was optimistic that his club could pull off the feat that 150 previous NBA teams had not been able to: overcome a 3-0 series deficit. Rather, in their Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat on Monday night (103-84), Boston never found their footing.
Game 7 defeat devastated Jayson Tatum
After the NBA Eastern Conference finals, he told reporters, “I was a shell of myself.” The Boston player identified the crucial incident that plagued him the entire evening: an ankle injury sustained on the game’s opening play. Tatum drove to the basket, drew a foul from Gabe Vincent, and made the opening baskets of the game from the charity stripe. But the price could not have been greater
Tatum expressed his frustration that the injury occurred during the opening play, saying it “slowed him down.” Replay film in the locker room let the native of St. Louis understand the impact. Tatum expressed his regret but stated he doesn’t want sympathy, saying, “I don’t want anybody to feel bad for me. Regretfully, this game involves injuries.”
Jayson Tatum’s teammate Marcus Smart has nothing but admiration for him: “He took a fall really early.” Though he had the option to leave the game, he chose to continue and try to fight. The truth that Tatum’s ankle was truly killing him was revealed by the Celtics point guard: “”It was a game changer for him.” It was evident that he had changed and was no longer as flamboyant. For him and all of us, it was the worst possible conclusion.”
Was the Celtics’ defeat due to Tatum’s injury? Though it’s hard to say for sure, it was definitely a significant contributing component. His poor shooting (5-13 FG) only served to hurt his squad.
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