Knicks know they can’t worry ‘about anyone else’ despite Jayson Tatum’s Celtics return
NY Post
DENVER — A rival and a big-time threat to the Knicks is adding a prime star with enough time to find a rhythm before the playoffs.
But Jalen Brunson is happy for Jayson Tatum. Health, Brunson said, trumps everything.
“You wish good health for everybody. Obviously, you want to beat everybody you play against. But you don’t wish any negative on anybody, no matter the rivalry,” Brunson said Friday, just hours before Tatum was scheduled to return to the Celtics from his Achilles surgery. “Or whoever you like or don’t like. It doesn’t matter. You want everyone healthy and going home in one piece.”
Brunson watched Tatum’s Achilles explode in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semis about 10 months ago, when the Knicks were steering toward a 3-1 series lead at MSG.
Tatum had 42 points that night, which was the last game he played until Boston’s matchup Friday against the Mavericks.
“You wish good health for everybody. Obviously, you want to beat everybody you play against. But you don’t wish any negative on anybody, no matter the rivalry,” Brunson said Friday, just hours before Tatum finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in the Celtics’ 120-100 win over the Mavericks in his return from Achilles surgery. “Or whoever you like or don’t like. It doesn’t matter. You want everyone healthy and going home in one piece.”
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