Jayson Tatum on Ankle Injury: 'I was a Shell of Myself'

Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum said he was “a shell of myself” after suffering an ankle injury on the opening play of Game 7’s 103-84 loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Tatum sprained his ankle after attempting a layup over Heat point guard Gabe Vincent. The 25-year-old was in visible pain throughout the contest en route to scoring just 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting as the Celtics failed to become the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit.

“It was just frustrating that I was just kind of a shell of myself,” said Tatum. “It was tough to move. Just frustrating, it happening on the first play.”

Despite the disappointing end, Tatum remains confident in the C’s ability to win an NBA Championship, saying:

“We’ve shown that we can get there…We know we had a special opportunity this year. We just fell a little bit short. It’s not like we’re not capable (or) we don’t have the talent. We do. Just didn’t go our way this year.”

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