Could Jayson Tatum's injury end this iteration of the Celtics?

Jayson Tatum's pain was palpable. 

After lunging toward the ball with 2:58 left in Game 4 of the Boston Celtics' second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks on Monday, he collapsed onto the court. 

While lying on the hardwood at Madison Square Garden, he writhed 360-degrees. He grabbed at his right leg. He curled his head into his neck. 

After he was carried off the court to a wheelchair, he covered his face with both hands, overwhelmed by a gut-wrenching combination of pain and mental anguish. 

An MRI on Tuesday confirmed everyone's fear: Tatum suffered a torn Achilles tendon. 

The ramifications of such an injury are not only devastating for the 27-year-old superstar, but for the Celtics, who won a championship last season and whose hopes of remaining contenders now and in the near future are now upended. 

It can take a year to return from an Achilles tear. And even after a player comes back, he's often never the same. 

That's an incredible blow for the Celtics, who had stormed into the center of the basketball universe the last four years with two Finals appearances and an 8-2 record against Eastern conference teams in the postseason. Last year, they sailed through the playoffs with a 16-3 record en route to winning their first title in 16 years.

This was the Celtics' time. 

Tatum and Jaylen Brown had finally figured out how to be complementary stars by putting aside their egos. They shrugged off Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd calling Brown the best player on the team during the 2024 Finals, something that was widely considered to be a tactic intended to divide them. Tatum celebrated Brown winning Finals MVP. They had learned to root for each other instead of themselves. Meanwhile, Jrue Holiday, Derrick