As the Celtics prepare to face the Knicks for Game 5 in an elimination game, the obvious headlines are unavoidable. Not only are the C’s down 3-1 in the East semifinals, Jayson Tatum’s season-ending Achilles injury casts an undeniable shadow on the organization.
Instead of fighting for the 2025 NBA title, the future suddenly looks murky beyond even next season. The C’s were already set to shake up their roster this summer due to payroll and luxury tax implications. Now, without Tatum for the entire 2025-26 season, how the front office retools the roster for when he returns to the court is the big question mark. And when Tatum returns, it’s unclear how long it’ll take for him to get back to his All-NBA self.
Aside from the clear motive to win Game 5 to stave off elimination, the Celtics have another subtle reason to emerge victorious at TD Garden. This could be the final time this current Celtics core plays in front of a Boston crowd. Should they falter in Game 5, the lasting image would be a Tatum-less roster unable to pull out one more win.
“I think everybody’s concerned with Jayson,” Jaylen Brown said after Game 4. “I’m not sure how bad it is. Didn’t look great. But I think everybody is kind of more concerned with that. Obviously the loss is huge. But we’ve got to get ready for Game 5, so we’ll take the night and pick our heads up (Tuesday) and put together a game plan to come out on our own floor to keep this series alive.”
Of course, the Celtics could still rally from their 3-1 series deficit. The betting odds favor New York now overwhelmingly, which take into account Tatum’s unavailability. But going 0-3 against the Knicks at home, should they lose Game 5, would be going out on a whimper. That doesn’t include blowing two separate 20-point leads in Games 1 and 2, forcing the Celtics into an early series hole to begin the second round.
The Celtics have a chance to give their fans one last glimmer of hope before entering a summer of uncertainty. And, in some ways, it could be a nice send-off for the guys who will likely be shipped out this offseason. That at least puts them in a warm light for one final time should they falter this series. Or the Celtics could improbably rally and break the Knicks’ hearts — that’s also on the table.
Regardless, the C’s are put in a tough position without their star and best player for the rest of this series. But this is part of the NBA as injuries happen across the league, which Kristaps Porzingis pointed out. It’s just that Tatum going down does more on the psyche of a city and organization that’s grown accustomed to their longtime iron man playing every game he possibly can. But the remaining Celtics can, at least for one game, bring the fans something to cheer about come Game 5.
“We’re grown men,” Porzingis said. “Who hasn’t had injuries? It’s a part of this sport, part of this game. And we feel for him, of course. But we have to move forward. He doesn’t want us to be sad and not playing our best basketball. So we’re going to go out there and leave it all out there and live with the results.”