CELTICS SHOCKER: Stevens Delivers Unexpectedly Upbeat News on Tatum’s Injury! Fans Relieved as Boston Coach Reveals Positive Outlook—Major Health Updates for Key Players Ahead of Playoff Push!

BOSTON – Brad Stevens experienced the same emotions that all of Celtics Nation felt when Jayson Tatum went down with a season-ending Achilles rupture during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals: devastated, gutted, and full of empathy for a franchise cornerstone who has poured his heart and soul into the organization over the last eight years.

However, the Celtics’ President of Basketball Operations also came away with a positive perspective on the unique circumstances of the injury, specifically when it came to the treatment Tatum received in the immediate aftermath.

If there was one fortunate part of Tatum’s unfortunate situation, it was that he was located just down the road from the renowned Dr. Martin O’Malley, who Stevens lauded as “a terrific surgeon, who has done a number of these (operations),” including upon Kevin Durant and Tiger Woods.

“[Tatum] was out of the MRI and consultation and done with surgery by the time we had an injury report the next day, because there was real benefit to doing it early,” Stevens said. “So as tough as that injury is and as tough as that was that night, just an amazing set of circumstances, and an amazing thank you from our organization to Dr. O’Malley, the nurses at HSS (Hospital for Special Surgery) and everybody there, and the hotel that we were staying in and the accommodations they made Jayson feel comfortable in. I thought it was about as good of a transition in about as bleak of a feeling as you could have.”

Although we are far from having a projected timetable of Tatum’s return, there’s no question that the rapid initiation of his treatment can only be beneficial. Plus, as a guy who hates to miss games, you can bet that he will attack his rehabilitation process as diligently as anyone possibly could.

Updates on Brown’s Knee and Porzingis’ Illness

Stevens also provided some health-related insight on Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, who played through nagging ailments throughout the playoffs.

Brown had been dealing with a right knee injury during the final stretch of the regular season, which led him to receive pain-management injections so that he could play through the Playoffs.

Stevens praised Brown for his toughness and said that the knee appears to be in good shape heading into the offseason.

“Jaylen wants to play, Jaylen’s a warrior, Jaylen takes great pride in being out there,” Stevens said. “Our team docs and a couple of other people said a couple of weeks ago, the knee is in a good place structurally, and so I think he felt comfortable getting out there and going after it, and hopefully he’ll feel better after being off it for a couple of weeks here.”

Stevens added that Brown’s condition seemed to have actually improved as he played through it. The progress showed in his play, as he averaged 22.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game during the playoffs.

“Certainly, we’re thankful for how much and how hard he’s played,” Stevens said.

Lastly, Stevens shed some light on Porzingis’ viral illness, which impacted him at various points from February-on.

Like Brown, Porzingis also tried to play through discomfort but had a difficult time due to the way his illness impacted his breathing.

“I don’t think anybody was more frustrated than him,” Stevens said. “I felt for him because the way it was described to me, it was just post-viral syndrome, which is just lingering effects of a long illness.”

When he initially returned from the illness in mid-March, Porzingis was playing some of his best basketball of the season. He averaged 24.4 PPG and 8.2 RPG during his first five games back and was able to benefit from a less-demanding schedule. But with little time to rest during the Playoffs, the post-viral symptoms began to surface.

“In the middle of a playoff series where you play every other day, it’s not an ideal situation in terms of feeling better,” Stevens said. “Especially with the travel and everything else, and the amount of physical force these guys put on their bodies.”

Now, Porzingis can finally rest for an extended period, which will hopefully allow him to return to normal soon. If all goes well, he’ll get to represent Latvia in Eurobasket this summer, after missing out on last year’s Olympics due to an ankle injury.

“Our expectation is that the next couple weeks will do him good to be off,” Stevens said. “He’s going to play for Latvia, and I think that’s a good thing. I think it’s good to be playing in Eurobasket, and I’m sure it’ll be well-cleared up by then.”

None of Boston’s players have had much opportunity to rest coming off last year’s championship run, especially those who went straight from the Finals into the Olympics. Although they obviously wish they could still be playing now, they’ll take advantage of their time off leading into next season, with the hope of coming back healthy and stronger.