Latest / Bleacher Report / Jayson Tatum Leaves Game 4 vs. Knicks w_ a Lower Leg Injury _ NBA TV

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Jayson Tatum Leaves Game 4 vs. Knicks w_ a Lower Leg Injury _ NBA TV · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Game coverage coming up here on NBA TV.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: So many subplots to this game and what has happened
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: in this context, what's happened in this series. But we
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: got to start with the biggest news, which is Jason
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: Tatum going down to that injury. Don't want to speculate
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: if you don't know exactly what it is. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: obviously there's a lot of people think it could be
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  Speaker 2: an achilles, just the way it looks in from history
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: we've seen from other players. But at the same time,
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  Speaker 2: he was having an incredible game, He's had an incredible
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  Speaker 2: series obviously, sorry I should say playoffs, but for this,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, this is bigger than just this series for
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  Speaker 2: Jason Tatum.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean unfortunate.
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  Speaker 3: Man.
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  Speaker 4: You never want to see somebody go down, But it's
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  Speaker 4: speculated to be an achilles, and something is going to
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  Speaker 4: take you know, not only the rest of this season,
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  Speaker 4: but some of the next season as well. So I mean,
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  Speaker 4: you know, you hope for the best. We're not doctors.
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  Speaker 4: We don't know what it is. But as players we've
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  Speaker 4: seen this before. It fits the deal. As far as
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  Speaker 4: the looks of everything for what happened, it looks like
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  Speaker 4: that's what it is, and you know, it's unfortunate. I mean,
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  Speaker 4: you hope for the best and just in this situation
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  Speaker 4: and he could you know, speedy recovery and all of
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: that stuff, and with you know, hope the diagnosis isn't that,
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  Speaker 4: but it looks like it will be.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, you're right, Q, I agree, and non contact injury
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  Speaker 5: open floor seems like it's gonna be an achilles, and
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  Speaker 5: those things take a season or so to recover from
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  Speaker 5: in most cases.
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  Speaker 3: So it puts a question.
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  Speaker 5: Mark already on next season for a team that's the
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  Speaker 5: defending world champion. He was having a terrific game today
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  Speaker 5: and it's unfortunate to watch them go down like that.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, we're gonna hear from the players.
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  Speaker 2: We're gonna hear from coaches, obviously, Joe Mizula if he
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  Speaker 2: has any kind of update. I know it's pretty early
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  Speaker 2: in the situation here with them and might not have
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  Speaker 2: all the answers right now, but we're gonna get to
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  Speaker 2: Joe Misula when he gets to the podium. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: prior to that, that third quarter when it was Jason
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  Speaker 2: Tatum and Jalen Brown going back and forth, I mean,
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  Speaker 2: that was real special.
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  Speaker 5: It was special and it reminded me of like watching
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  Speaker 5: Larry Bird go back and forth with Bernard King or
• 1:57
  Speaker 5: something like that. And Jylen Bronson does a terrific job
• 2:00
  Speaker 5: of finding ways to understand his team now needs him
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  Speaker 5: to score.
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  Speaker 3: And usually all.
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  Speaker 5: Season has been in the fourth quarter because he's been
• 2:06
  Speaker 5: the clutch player of the year. But actually he did
• 2:08
  Speaker 5: it in the third quarter. We had eighteen big points
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  Speaker 5: and that's what helped drive the Knicks to have the
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  Speaker 5: confidence to start getting stops defensively and making plays offensively.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I felt like Jalen did a great job.
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  Speaker 4: Got he got great assistance, though. I felt like late
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  Speaker 4: in the third, early in the fourth when when Michale
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  Speaker 4: Bridges kind of started to take over, he gave him
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  Speaker 4: a much needed lift with the buckets he was getting
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  Speaker 4: in the clutch points he was able to score.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, especially when Jalen was on the bench.
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  Speaker 2: Bridges getting that offense and continuing to score the ball
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  Speaker 2: for New York was huge. You called it before the game,
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  Speaker 2: ogn Andobi had to have a bigger game. He goes
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: from twenty tonight.
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  Speaker 5: I love his game and I feel like he's their
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  Speaker 5: second best player, and the reason why is because he's
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  Speaker 5: their Swiss army knife. He gives you the strength, the
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  Speaker 5: physicality for a front court player, but he also gives
• 2:52
  Speaker 5: you the quickness, the deflections, and the steals and the
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  Speaker 5: three point shooting of a backcourt player. It's not an
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  Speaker 5: accident on the play that Tatum got hurt. It was
• 3:00
  Speaker 5: Og that was actually the person going after the loose
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: ball to ended up being a dunk the other way.
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  Speaker 2: Karl Anthony Towns had a fantastic game, his most efficient
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  Speaker 2: game of the series. Twenty three points, eleven rebounds on
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  Speaker 2: eleven to fifteen shooting.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, he needed that game. He needed to, you know.
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  Speaker 4: I felt like he got a little bit in foul trouble,
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  Speaker 4: a little tentative. But I like him going inside and
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  Speaker 4: trying to score down there and not settling for the
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  Speaker 4: threes as much. I like him taking the big guys
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  Speaker 4: off the dribble, driving to the hole and trying to
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  Speaker 4: score in that way.
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  Speaker 3: I don't like.
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  Speaker 4: Him so much just standing out there, searching out and
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  Speaker 4: settling for threes. When he gets active, going to the
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  Speaker 4: basket and scoring on the post on the mismatches, I
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  Speaker 4: like that. Probably Amthy Towns.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: So Boston at a great starts of this game. They're
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  Speaker 2: up thirty nine to twenty eight after the first quarter.
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  Speaker 2: Another thing you guys had kind of singled out and said, Hey,
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: they needed to better start the New York Knickson they're
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: going to be successful in this series. What happened after that?
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  Speaker 2: What allowed New York to get back at it it
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  Speaker 2: eventually win this game.
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  Speaker 5: I feel like when I watched Boston play, it's almost
• 3:54
  Speaker 5: like a one trick pony sometime to just launch a three,
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  Speaker 5: miss a three, take one further, take one earlier in
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  Speaker 5: the shot clock, and they don't always make the defense work.
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  Speaker 3: They don't always move the ball side to side, they.
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  Speaker 5: Don't get many layups, they don't do many post ups,
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  Speaker 5: and it's just a make or miss game. When they're
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  Speaker 5: hitting them. They can be up twenty like they've been
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  Speaker 5: in almost every game.
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  Speaker 3: They were up fourteen in this game.
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  Speaker 5: They were knocking down threes, they were on fire from downtown,
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  Speaker 5: and then once they started the struggle from long range,
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  Speaker 5: that's when the Knicks started to creep back into the game.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I felt like that.
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  Speaker 4: I felt like Boston didn't have that normal compliment they
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  Speaker 4: usually have, you know, at least Jason and Jalen playing well,
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  Speaker 4: but then they usually go.
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  Speaker 3: Two or three other support guys.
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  Speaker 4: Today was mainly Jason and then you know, obviously you
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  Speaker 4: had Derek White with twenty three and Jalen with twenty,
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  Speaker 4: but it was not a lot from Pritchrid, not a
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  Speaker 4: lot from porzingis not a lot from Al Horford, and
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  Speaker 4: those three usually give more than what they were able
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  Speaker 4: to give combined the night, and I think that was
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  Speaker 4: the difference.
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  Speaker 2: It was d odd because before Jason Tatum really got
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: going in that first stef Derek White was outstanding.
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  Speaker 1: He was kind of carrying the men.
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  Speaker 2: Tatum took over and we were kind of talking about
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  Speaker 2: this in the fourth quarter and Jason Tatum with some
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: of those possessions down the stretch. Again, he had a
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: great game sixteen to twenty eight, but like you mentioned,
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  Speaker 2: that ball wasn't zipping around anymore. He was coming down
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  Speaker 2: and then kind of playing with it.
• 5:19
  Speaker 5: Celtic's fifteen total assists. They were literally taking turns. When
• 5:22
  Speaker 5: Derek White was making his shots earlier in the game,
• 5:25
  Speaker 5: they were catching shoot. He was straight up and down
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  Speaker 5: and he was knocking him in. Then Jason Tatum started.
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  Speaker 3: To get hot.
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  Speaker 5: It was a one on one game, he was shooting
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  Speaker 5: threes from the top, he was shooting threes from further
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  Speaker 5: but then when he started to struggle, he kept shooting
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  Speaker 5: no shots. They never worked, no one else really into
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  Speaker 5: the game. And I'm actually disappointed at Christaps Porzingis, and
• 5:44
  Speaker 5: I know he's dealing with an illness, but it's one
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  Speaker 5: thing that we can't start you because you're not feeling well.
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  Speaker 5: So it's another thing that you're playing against your former squad.
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  Speaker 5: We don't start you. You get in the game and don't
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  Speaker 5: give us anything. They really need his productivity, especially not
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  Speaker 5: a Tatum is going to be out and he was
• 6:02
  Speaker 5: just basically a non existent offensively today.
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  Speaker 2: You know one stat that really sticks out points in
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  Speaker 2: the paint. The Knicks sixty four, the Celtics just thirty two.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, that speaks exactly what I'm saying. They relied too
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  Speaker 4: heavily on jump shooting, didn't put enough pressure at the rim,
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  Speaker 4: on the defense getting to the basket or even posting up.
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  Speaker 4: And like I said, a lot of times when you
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: get the mismassage mismatches, don't settle for the step back
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  Speaker 4: for the bomb bomb, step back back them down into
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  Speaker 4: the mid range.
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: Get a little fade away, get a little mid.
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  Speaker 4: Range post up in there. But it wasn't It wasn't
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  Speaker 4: a lot of that man, Like you guys said. It
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  Speaker 4: was a lot of three point shots, a lot of
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  Speaker 4: jump shooting, and not a lot going to the basket.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: You know, it's interesting because after Game two, Jason Tatum
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: was talking to the media and they were asking about
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  Speaker 2: the shooting, and he said, no, this is part of
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: our identity. Just because we shot the ball poorly doesn't
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: mean that we're going to go away from it. And
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  Speaker 2: I guess that's just a continuation on that.
• 6:55
  Speaker 5: It is, and they're just doubling down on the analytics
• 6:58
  Speaker 5: age of today's and they decided, if we're going to
• 7:02
  Speaker 5: shoot the three, we're going to live and die by it,
• 7:04
  Speaker 5: and it seems like they're doing so. But also I
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  Speaker 5: want to give the Knicks credit because they're actually contesting
• 7:09
  Speaker 5: the threes. There was so many times I felt like
• 7:11
  Speaker 5: a Celtic had an opportunity to pump fake get into
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  Speaker 5: the paint, either try to finish in the paint or
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  Speaker 5: dish it off to someone else. Except they launched a
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  Speaker 5: contested three point shot and they were unsuccessful.
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  Speaker 2: You guys have both played a long time in the NBA.
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  Speaker 2: Just take me into that room right now, what it
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  Speaker 2: probably feels like for the Celtics, not only to lose
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  Speaker 2: this game, being down three to one, but also knowing
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  Speaker 2: your superstar may not be coming back.
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  Speaker 4: It's tough, tough moment. I mean, knowing, especially knowing that
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: JT's down like that. But I mean, you know, guys,
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  Speaker 4: know that this is a this is a this is
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: a man's league, and this next man up. I mean,
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  Speaker 4: as bad as they feel right now, they still got
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  Speaker 4: a game to play. They still got series to try
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  Speaker 4: and come back in. They down three to one, the
• 7:49
  Speaker 4: dreaded you know, three to one and all of that,
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  Speaker 4: but hey, they headed back home.
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: They got to try and get a game.
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  Speaker 5: Absolutely, And here's how you show your teammate that you
• 7:58
  Speaker 5: feel bad that he got injured out there and ball
• 8:00
  Speaker 5: for him.
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  Speaker 3: Go out there and win for him. Go out there
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  Speaker 3: and play inspired.
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  Speaker 5: Even though he's not going to be a part of
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  Speaker 5: what looks like the rest of this series.
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: And we'll see what happens in the offseason.
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: Do you have to I mean, this is kind of
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: a dumb question, but do you have the same level
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  Speaker 2: of confidence without Jason Tatum and these Boston Celtics to
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: come back now in this kind.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Of situation, I don't personally.
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  Speaker 4: I mean by the way that they have been playing,
• 8:20
  Speaker 4: but I mean in that locker room they have to
• 8:22
  Speaker 4: They have to believe in each other and have to
• 8:24
  Speaker 4: find it for you know, go out there and fight.
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  Speaker 4: But I mean me personally, I don't. I think this
• 8:29
  Speaker 4: season is over nine. I mean, yeah, for the U sets,
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: I think the Knicks will win.
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: I agree with you.
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  Speaker 5: And while I think the Knicks will advance, the Celtics
• 8:36
  Speaker 5: are a championship group.
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  Speaker 3: They have to play with a sense of pride.
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  Speaker 5: On their home floor, not wanting to get eliminated in
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  Speaker 5: front of their fans, especially after their best player just
• 8:46
  Speaker 5: got injured. I would like to see Jaylen Brown to
• 8:49
  Speaker 5: come out and have the same aggression in the next
• 8:51
  Speaker 5: game that Jason Tatum had in this game, looking to
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  Speaker 5: score