With the season-ending injury to Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, there's no doubt a feeling of sadness among the fans who were hoping to see him lead the team to a second straight championship. As Jaylen Brown now leads the Celtics into Game 6 against the New York Knicks, the team will look to shock the world without Tatum, as Payton Pritchard gives an update on the star player.

Pritchard is one of the players who is looked at to step up after Tatum's injury, as he scored 17 points off the bench to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Tatum is out of surgery, as Pritchard would say before Game 6 that he's “in really good spirits,” according to Noa Dalzell, even though he's likely to be “stir crazy” since he won't be able to play.

“It was really good seeing him,” Pritchard said. “Obviously, he’s out of surgery. It seemed like he was in really good spirits. He’s probably about to be stir crazy for a while now, but it’s just good when you see one of your brothers and teammates go through a situation like that, you just want to be there to comfort anything he needs.”

Celtics' Payton Pritchard on conversations with Jayson Tatum 

Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) controls the ball while New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) defends in the second half during game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden.
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While the expected return of Tatum to the Celtics is undetermined at this point, though it's expected to be long, the team will look to beat the Knicks anyway, as there is still talent in the group. Pritchard would also provide some insight into what the conversations have been like between him, the team, and Tatum himself.

“We didn’t talk about basketball at all,” Pritchard said. “That stuff is bigger in basketball now — it’s just seeing how he is in person, how he’s feeling, and stuff. The basketball side, we’ll handle that. But just wanted to check in as a friend.”

There's no doubt that Boston is seen as the underdog now without Tatum, but they impressed in Game 5 on their home floor, even when it could have been a downer for them without their main star. Still, Pritchard would speak on the mentality that the Celtics have with each contest being a win-or-go-home scenario, according to Celtics Blog.

“We just don’t want to go home,” Pritchard said. “We’re gonna do everything we can to lay it all on the line every second of the game…This group is a bunch of competitors, people that love to play ball, and it’s fun to go to war with people like that.”

If they push the series to Game 7, it would be inside the TD Garden, which could be a prime opportunity, but Boston first has to win Friday night in Madison Square Garden.