With Tyrese Haliburton also sustaining an Achilles tear, yet another All-Star-caliber player will be forced to watch the next NBA season from the sidelines.
This was the third Achilles tear in this postseason alone, and the seventh overall. Given the timeline, it’s hard to believe any of these players will be able to suit up next season.
More than that, some players struggle to get back to their usual level after sustaining this type of injury.
On Tuesday, Sportskeeda's Mark Medina talked to Dr. Nirav Amin, a premier orthopedic and trauma specialist, to discuss the potential ripple effect from these injuries on Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, the three superstars who tore their Achilles in the playoffs.
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Notably, Armin didn't seem to be too worried about Lillard, given that we've seen veteran players return to dominance.
"The Dame injury is hard just for the age and the mileage that he’s had," Armin said. "But Kevin Durant is a great example of almost being the same player before his Achilles injury. You can argue that because there are better surgical techniques than there were historically."
Nevertheless, he's not so sure about Tatum, given the way the Boston Celtics star often relies on his athleticism and explosiveness to be efficient.
"The one I worry about the most would be Tatum because he uses his ability to drive to the basket to finish and set up his perimeter game. I think that’s worrisome," Armin said.
When it comes to Haliburton, he believes that he and Lillard can still rely on their jump-shooting skills, considering that they're not aggressive drivers.
"Haliburton seems to play along the perimeter and sets up the offense from that level," Armin said. "Dame has traditionally been a jump shooter overall. So I think if you mirror that with Kevin Durant, you hope that Dame can come back and be a similar shooter."
The specialist believes Haliburton can return to his usual floor-management duties as a pass-first, jump-shooting point guard.
Tatum, on the other hand, might have to adjust his game, as players often struggle to recover that quick burst after tearing their Achilles.
"You assume Haliburton can come back and reestablish his ability to set the tempo and flow," Armin said. "With Tatum’s explosiveness to the basket, that’s where I get a little bit concerned.
"Will he still have the same explosiveness? Kobe Bryant didn’t have the same explosiveness after his Achilles, but he was older and had a myriad of injuries afterwards.”
The Eastern Conference will be wide open next season
This myriad of major injuries has other Eastern Conference teams licking their chops.
The Milwaukee Bucks won't be without Damian Lillard, and there's still a chance they will trade Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics will be without Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum, respectively.
That leaves the door wide open for the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers to dominate the conference. The New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers should also be in the mix, but the former don't have a coach yet, and the latter have struggled with injuries of their own.
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