Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is one of the NBA’s most durable players. He has missed only six games this season and has never missed more than eight in a single season. However, freak accidents can happen in the NBA, and unfortunately, Tatum was hit with one in the third quarter of Boston’s 113-95 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday.
Tatum had the ball behind the arc and was defended by Kings big man Domantas Sabonis. Seeing the mismatch, Tatum went up for a 3-pointer. Sabonis attempted to contest him, but stuck his foot into Tatum’s landing zone. Tatum landed on that foot and immediately crumpled to the floor in pain.
Tatum went to the locker room from there and did not return with what the Celtics called a left ankle sprain. After the game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Tatum seemed “to be doing OK” and was icing the ankle. Tatum was not made available to reporters but was not wearing a boot on the affected foot.
The foul on Sabonis was a flagrant-1 based on a rule that came about as the result of a similar play. In the 2017 Western Conference finals, Kawhi Leonard got hurt when Zaza Pachulia closed out into his landing zone, so when a defender steps under an airborne shooter, it is now considered a flagrant. Tatum remained in the game for his free throws but exited from there.
Fortunately for both Tatum and the Celtics, Boston has little left to play for in the regular season. Tatum has already reached 65 games, so he is eligible for an All-NBA selection. Boston, meanwhile, trails Cleveland by five games for the No. 1 seed and leads New York by seven in the loss column for the No. 3 seed. With 10 games to go before the postseason, the Celtics are basically assured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, so they can afford to be cautious with Tatum as they assess this injury.
Still, Boston needs Tatum at full strength for the postseason, and ankle sprains can be tricky. A lower ankle sprain can be managed over the course of a few weeks. A high-ankle sprain takes longer, and then there is the severity of the sprain to consider.
For now, all Boston can do is hope that Tatum’s sprain won’t linger into the playoffs.
