Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Had Blunt View on Hard Foul That Led to Jayson Tatum Injury – Sports Illustrated
2025-04-23T15:58:14Z
Tatum is doubtful for Game 2 after hurting his wrist in Game 1.
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is in danger of missing his first career playoff game on Wednesday night. The perennial All-NBA wing was declared doubtful for Game 2 against the Orlando Magic after hurting his wrist following a flagrant foul by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the fourth quarter of Game 1. Tatum’s teammates were incensed after the play, especially Al Horford, who said on Tuesday he felt there was “something extra” behind the foul. For his part, Caldwell-Pope had a blunt perspective on the situation: it was a “just a foul.” “Playoff basketball. That’s all I gotta say on it,” KCP said to Celtics reporter Bobby Manning. “This is how I’ve been playing in playoff basketball. A hard foul is a hard foul. I really don’t care what anybody says. I’m still gonna play how I play, how I’m supposed to play for my team at the end of the day… For me, I’m going up to contest a shot. As a defender, I’m here to help stop the ball from going in the basket. Whether they thought it was a flagrant foul or a bad call or whatever it was, I just went up to block the ball.” It’s easy to understand both sides here. Caldwell-Pope, an NBA champion familiar with the rigors and rules of playoff basketball, is not going to allow an easy dunk if he can help it. Tatum’s teammates are never going to be happy with any player that fouls their star hard enough to send him flying to the parquet. Above all else, the sequence and subsequent response from Boston should hammer home what the NBA world already knew going into this series: it’s going to be very, very physical. Game 2 will likely prove as much comes tip at 7 p.m. ET. feed Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020. Follow liam_mckeone © 2025 ABG-SI LLC – SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC. – All Rights Reserved. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators’ opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates, licensees and related brands. All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.
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