Seventy-two hours later, it doesn’t seem real that the Celtics won’t be advancing to the Eastern Conference finals and continuing their quest to defend their championship. Instead, they are just another playoff dismissal that’s gone fishin’ as the franchise makes the unwanted pivot to an eventful offseason.
The ending was bitter because the ending was so sudden and the Celtics were physically a shell of themselves as the series progressed with the Knicks. Jaylen Brown played the final few weeks of the regular season and the entire postseason with a partially torn meniscus in his right knee.
Kristaps Porzingis spent the past few months battling a virus that he said would zap his energy in mere hours. He brought up a January shootaround at UCLA when he took shots, sprinted the floor and looked ready to take on the Clippers that night, only to be completely floored by fatigue and then was scratched that night with the non-COVID illness.
Porzingis then admitted that after 11 minutes of Game 6, he was ready to take a nap in the Celtics’ locker room at Madison Square Garden.
Jayson Tatum’s Achilles’ tendon injury was the fatal blow in this series for the Celtics, and now president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has to determine how to retool the roster and whether to shape his roster around Tatum’s return.
Tatum underwent surgery to repair his Achilles’ less than 24 hours after sustaining the injury but the question is whether the organization would or should allow their cornerstone to play next season or is a 17-month absence – until October 2027 – better for Tatum’s long-term health.
Tatum was already dealing with bone damage from the wrist injury in Game 1 of the first-round series against the Magic and was limited in practice throughout the postseason. Rehabilitation from a torn Achilles’ is among the toughest in sports and allowing Tatum the time to get completely healthy should be the Celtics’ priority, even if that means taking a step back next season.
But what does taking a step back mean? It likely means seeing if there will be a taker for the final year of Porzingis’s contract at $30.7 million. Porzingis included in his postgame interview after Game 6 that he plans to play for Latvia in EuroBasket, which begins in his home country Aug. 27.
“I’m excited about that, playing for my national team,’’ he said. “I’ve always played well the season after the championships because you’re in a rhythm already, which I didn’t have this season. So this summer I expect a nice bounce back for myself heading into next season.’’
A healthy Porzingis could either boost his trade value or encourage the Celtics into keeping him to bolster the roster. But either way, there is going to be some trimming because of the risks of staying in the second apron.
Because the Celtics are currently in the second apron, they are unable to trade their 2032 first-round pick (called a frozen pick). And if they remain in the second apron for three years of a five-year period, their first-round pick sinks to the bottom of the first round regardless of where they finish in the standings.
The Celtics are going to have to trim roughly $35 million off their payroll to get under the daunted second apron, which is more difficult as Tatum’s supermax extension begins in 2025-26 with a $20 million raise over last season.
And the most likely salaries to be moved are that of Porzingis and valuable swingman Jrue Holiday, who said Saturday he wants to return and try to win another championship with the Celtics.
But it’s apparent that running it back without Tatum won’t be nearly enough to compete in the East. There are a handful of emerging teams that will push the Celtics perhaps into a play-in spot. The Pistons and Magic appear to be playoff experience and one player away from being a contender.
The 76ers will return a healthy Joel Embiid (if that’s possible), along with Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, and the third overall pick in a year that could determine the fates for coach Nick Nurse and general manager Daryl Morey. In addition to the Knicks and Pacers, the Cavaliers, Bulls, and Hawks also have playoff aspirations.
The East will be competitive, and without Tatum, the Celtics will be just another contender. The question is whether Brown decides to have surgery and if he does, whether it’s the complete reconstruction of the meniscus, which could cost him several months.
The good news for the Celtics is they have a handful of younger players to develop, such as Baylor Scheierman, Neemias Queta, JD Davison, and the 28th and 32nd picks. Perhaps in past years Stevens would take a chance on a developmental player for his first-round pick, but with the desire for players under rookie contracts, look for the Celtics to delve into players who could help immediately and eventually become part of the core.
The Celtics can ponder what could have been if they were completely healthy throughout this postseason, but they also had enough to win the series against the Knicks. Losing the first two games was too much, and three of their top five players were dealing with significant injuries or illness. So the retool begins.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.