Thanks in large part to the offensive production of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Boston Celtics managed to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their first-round playoff matchup, 109-101. However, The C's lost one of their key pieces in Gordon Hayward, who left the arena wearing a walking boot after turning his right ankle.
Hayward's injury occurred in the fourth quarter of Monday's game. The former Butler standout was underneath the hoop, jockeying for rebounding position. After rising up for a loose ball near the rim, he landed awkwardly on his right foot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do0X_in9JMs
Initial reports are listing Hayward as “out” for roughly four weeks. His injury is certainly unfortunate, but Brown and Tatum seem poised to carry the load for Boston. In fact, Tatum had career playoff highs of 32 points and 13 rebounds against the Sixers in Game 1. 15 of his points came in the second quarter. Brown scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter alone.
“Offensively, it doesn't feel like he's got 32 at the end of the night,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of Tatum, via ESPN. “He just plays the game within himself. He did a lot of good things tonight.”
With Hayward sidelined, the Celtics will lean on Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown even more. Furthermore, Marcus Smart will likely see an increased workload.
Tatum has stepped his game up in a big way in this campaign. Through 66 regular season games, the former Duke Blue Devil racked up averages of 23.4 points on 45.0 percent shooting from the field (40.3 percent from beyond the arc), 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals and just under one block (0.9) in 34.3 minutes per outing. For a bit of perspective, he averaged 15.7 points last season.
Like Tatum, Brown's numbers are up. In 57 games this season, the former No. 3 overall pick averaged 20.3 points on 48.1 percent shooting (38.2 percent from downtown), 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals. Last season, he averaged 13.0 points per game.
There seems to be a trend here. Brown and Tatum are taking strides, and their numbers are here to prove it.
Though the Celtics managed to take Game 1 against the Sixers, Tatum is still showing respect for his opponent:
“Philly, they're not going to go away,” Jayson Tatum said, via ESPN. “They're a tough team. It's the playoffs. You've got to come together as a team.”
Hayward's injury is a tough blow for the Celtics. However, if Brown and Tatum to continue to play at this level, Boston will have a shot at claiming an 18th NBA championship.
Game 2 between the Celtics and Sixers is set to tip inside Disney's Wide World of Sports complex on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET, with TNT having live broadcast coverage.
Will Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum continue to carry the Celtics?
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