Celtics’ Jayson Tatum laments ‘unfortunate timing’ of knee injury

boston — Boston Celtics the star Jason Tatum Said it was “unfortunate timing” that he was forced to watch Game 7 Philadelphia 76ers From bench in street clothes due to left knee stiffness.

Speaking a day after he missed Game 7 — and with it, the end of the Celtics’ season — Tatum detailed his comeback from last season’s torn Achilles along with his recent knee injury.

“My recovery and comeback (from the Achilles injury) was going so well that it ended up the way it did, I didn’t think it would end up like this,” Tatum said Sunday. “It was just unfortunate.

“I worked really, really, really, really hard to get back into fashion and play at the level I was playing at. So to finish the way it did was a tough pill to swallow.”

Boston’s season came to such an abrupt and shocking end that it was a tough pill to swallow for Boston as a group, as the Celtics became the 14th team in NBA history to take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-7 series — and the fourth team to do so with homecourt advantage in a matchup.

But while that in itself was surprising, it was how it happened — Tatum suddenly being listed as questionable with left knee stiffness Saturday afternoon without being on the injury report, and then being ruled out two hours before the start of Game 7 at TD Garden — became the focus of much of Sunday’s discussion.

Tatum was upset about something in the second half of Game 6, though it’s unclear if Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla could have returned to the game after Boston trailed by 23 points with 10:24 left in the fourth quarter.

But Tatum said that after meeting with the medical team and his trainer, Nick Tsang, it was decided that he would not play in Boston’s final game of the season.

“It was just with the staff and the medical team and Nick, they evaluated everything that was going on,” Tatum said. “And I’m still in the return window to play the protocol, and there were certain rules and a plan that ultimately we had to stick to.

“And it was tough, obviously, as hard as I worked to come back and be available and come into Game 7, not be able to be there. I just keep saying it’s unfortunate and it’s tough to deal with, but that’s the plan we have to stick to.”

It’s a plan that, over the past few months, has produced some fairly remarkable results.

Tatum said on several occasions Sunday that he’s playing at about 80-85% of his full capacity since returning less than 10 months after tearing his Achilles, also noting that his right leg is still shorter than his left. He averaged 21.8 points. 10 rebounds and 5.3 assists over 16 regular-season games before posting 23.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists over the first six games of this series.

Tatum’s return went so well — as did Boston’s season, with the Celtics far exceeding preseason expectations by winning 56 games and landing the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs — that Boston entered the postseason as the favorite to return to the NBA Finals. That feeling was only strengthened by the Celtics taking a 3-1 series lead with a blowout win over Philadelphia in Game 4.

Instead, a week later, Tatum was conducting an exit interview after watching Game 7 in street clothes, and another season ended in disappointment for both him and the Celtics. That said, Tatum — who said his injury was a day-to-day thing, and knew he could return at some point. New York Knicks Boston won Game 7 in the conference semifinals — making it clear that this season should not be viewed as a disappointment for the Celtics.

“Yeah, the team has been super, super exciting and fun to watch this season,” he said. “You know only one team can win a championship, and whenever that happens, it’s always tough to lose in early May or late June, it’s always a tough pill to swallow.

“I don’t think that should take away from the growth of every guy in this locker room and the steps they all took this season and how it ended up being the 2 seed and everyone’s important role and showing their value and just doing it together. This team was a joy to watch, and it was a joy when I was able to join them.”

It is never certain whether Tatum was able to join the team.

Returning to the moment of his Achilles surgery for special surgery at a New York hospital less than 24 hours after the injury at Madison Square Garden, neither Tatum nor the Celtics publicly promised his return — though his actions always indicated it was at least a possible possibility.

After returning to the court in less than 10 months and playing as he did, Tatum said he was excited to have a full offseason to continue his rehabilitation process, and to be able to fully return to the level he was at before the injury next season, something he said he doubted he could do at times during the process.

But when asked if anything had happened that made him think he should have sat out the full 18 months and come back next season instead of playing now, he was quick to say he was coming back and playing now was the right call.

“I’m very happy to be back to be a part of his team, to be back doing what I love, to help us, to give us a chance to compete for a championship, to prove to myself that I can go back to being the guy I was, and hopefully better,” he said. “And to deny what that kind of injury means, not necessarily from the point of view of, like, ‘I’m great, look what I’ve been able to do,’ but to give other guys hope that … Obviously, I don’t want anybody to have to tear their Achilles.

“But the unfortunate thing that happens, I can be an inspiration, like, if you attack rehab a certain way, if you follow these guidelines, or do it a certain way, that it’s not like a career-ending injury, that you can’t come back, that you can be yourself, that you can be better, that it won’t be 18 months when you can come back.

“So I’m happy and proud that I’ve been able to do it. And unfortunately, if someone else has to deal with it, they can see what I’ve been able to do and get some hope and inspiration that it’s not what people thought before. And you can come back from it and be who you were and hopefully be better.”