The Boston Celtics announced that Jayson Tatum will not suit up against the Phoenix Suns tonight. Tatum was injured on Monday in the third quarter when Kings forward Domantas Sabonis stood in Tatum’s landing zone, resulting in Tatum spraining his left ankle. Despite being down for several moments, Tatum eventually got to his feet, shot free throws, and then headed to the back room. He did not return to the game.
Tatum appeared on the New Heights podcast hosted by Jason and Travis Kelce after the injury and when asked about his ankle, Tatum said, “I’m feeling good. There’s a few benefits to being 27 — you recover a little bit faster.”
Tatum has appeared in 66 of the 72 games this season so far and he prides himself in playing and not spending time on the sidelines whether it’s because of injury or rest. Unfortunately, he will miss his seventh game of the season tonight. Despite being out, Tatum has been able to stay healthy and avoid injuries for most of his career as the only notable injury he’s had in his career was spraining his ankle in the conference finals against the Heat a few seasons back.
The Celtics initially announced that Tatum was questionable for the game after he participated in warmups, but clearly the ankle isn’t good to go or the Celtics are being cautious with their playoff seeding nearly locked in and the postseason on the horizon.
Clips started to surface of Tatum shooting at the PHX Arena with no noticeable limp or pain showing.
Tatum is currently averaging 27.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 6 assists on the season. Boston is currently on a six-game winning streak, looking to make it seven against the Phoenix Suns who are on a four-game win streak.