LeBron James has always been known to be a basketball junky so even though the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the first round, he is still locked in to the NBA postseason, which has been one of the best in years.
There have been a number of surprising series’ so far but perhaps the most shocking of them all is the New York Knicks leading 3-1 over the defending-champion Boston Celtics in the second round.
The Knicks erased two 20-point deficits on the road to win Games 1 and 2 before the Celtics blew them out at Madison Square Garden in Game 3. Monday night’s Game 4 was a pivotal one for both teams and it ultimately was New York that again finished strong and came out on top.
Unfortunately, the end of the game was marred by Celtics star Jayson Tatum suffering what appeared to be a serious leg injury. It was a non-contact injury and Tatum immediately went down in pain, eventually being carried to the locker room unable to put any weight on his leg.
The whole NBA world came together to offer well wishes for Tatum, and James was among them as he took to social media to give prayers:
James and Tatum have a close relationship that goes back years and grew even stronger when they teamed up for the first time in the Olympics last summer.
Tatum’s injury comes at a rough time as the Celtics are unlikely to come back from a 3-1 deficit without him. Game 4 was one of the best games of his career as he was carrying Boston with 42 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks on 16-of-28 shooting before going down with the injury.
It remains to be seen what exact injury Tatum suffered, although many have speculated that he tore his Achilles, which would likely force him to miss all of next season in addition to the rest of these playoffs.
Similar to Jayson Tatum, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is having an exceptional postseason, elevating his game in every way.
LeBron James also got close with Edwards on Team USA last summer and recently spoke about how he wants him to take the next step in his career after knocking the Lakers out in the first round.
I think that moment for me is understanding and recognizing the next generation. And someone who can do it and be great and be great for a long time in our league. I think that’s what our game is all about, is being able to pass it down to the next generation and they can continue to do great things. And for me, being out there in my 22nd season, playing against a young, up-and-coming superstar in the flesh in Anthony Edwards and watching him in the postseason last year, make those steps to get to the Western Conference Finals and fall short to Dallas and then have a full summer with him in the Olympic team and seeing how great he was, just listening and soaking in everything. From myself, to KD [Kevin Durant], to Steph [Curry], you could see, he was just like a little kid in a candy store. Like, super energetic and happy, he was just grateful that he was in that opportunity to be there. And for me to tell him to take that next step, it doesn’t always mean, ‘OK, well the Western Conference Finals and you got to be in the Finals.’ It’s like take the next step and just you as a person, you as a player, continue to get better, better and better.”
