Jayson Tatum injury update: Celtics ‘bracing for the worst’ per ESPN Insider

Jayson Tatum exited Game 4 in Madison Square Garden last night as he was helped off the floor and into a wheelchair after a non-contact injury with his right leg. Now, with testing on it today, Boston could be dealing with a significant issue that could affect the rest of this season and impact the ones to come.

Per ESPN’s Shams Charania this afternoon on SportsCenter, the Celtics are “bracing for the worst” regarding Tatum after he went down in their 121-113 loss to the New York Knicks, which now has them down 3-1 in their semifinal in the Eastern Conference. That could further have an effect on the franchise’s future considering the changes that were already expect to come this summer for Boston.

“The Boston Celtics are bracing for the worst around Jayson Tatum and that right foot. He underwent an MRI today in New York City and the Celtics, since last night, have been expecting a severe injury for Tatum,” Charania said.

“27 years old, not even really in the prime of his career. He’s already one of the best Celtics of all time,” said Charania. “Win or lose, the Celtics, from my understanding? They were destined for potential changes in the offseason and now they have Jayson Tatum, who’s on a super-max contract, potentially with a serious injury.”

Tatum was amidst one of his best games in these playoffs, at least his highest-scoring one for certain, when he went down in the fourth quarter. He went to go for a loose ball to avoid a steal by OG Anunoby but he went down and began to grab for the back of his right leg and foot as he reacted on the court at MSG. Training staff helped him off the floor as he didn’t put pressure on that leg with video later showing him, head in his hands, in a wheelchair.

In his eighth season in the NBA, Tatum was an All-Star again for the sixth straight year and is likely to again be All-NBA. That’s with averages of 26.8 points (45.2% FG, 34.3% 3PT on 3.5 makes), 8.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per game as Boston’s best player. He has upped those to 28.1 points (42.3% FG, 37.2% 3PT on 3.6 makes), 11.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.1 steals in these playoffs through eight games against the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks. He struggled to start this series against New York but had played better in the two games from The Mecca, including Game 4 prior to the injury where he had 42 points (57.% FG, 43.8% 3PT on 7 triples), eight rebounds, four assist, four steals, and two blocks.

Now, with Tatum likely out per these reports and the Celtics unlikely to come back in the series with the 3-1 deficit, Boston could quickly be in a key offseason. They’re set to have the highest payroll in the league next season, Tatum being the highest-paid of them all with a five-year supermax contract starting next season worth $313 million, with new ownership of the team likely, per reporting around the league, to work on the roster to get in a better place financially.

For now, though, the focus is on the health of Tatum as official word is awaited on his injury. That said, per Charania, it doesn’t sound great regarding his status, in the present and possibly for this offseason, with testing on it on Tuesday.