Jayson Tatum Suffers Ankle Injury vs. Lakers; Marcus Smart Starts 2nd Half

Boston Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum suffered an injury to his ankle during Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers at TD Garden.According to Chris Forsberg of ESPN, the team announced he would miss the remainder of the contest because of "right ankle soreness." Marcus Smart started the second half in his place.Tatum was Boston's first pick in the 2017 draft, taken No. 3 overall. He was a standout during his one season at Duke last year as a member of the ACC All-Freshman team after averaging 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 29 games.Tatum was tasked with a starting job right out of the gate, playing more than 36 minutes in each of the first two games this season. Head coach Brad Stevens has been terrific at maximizing the talent on his roster, leading the team to the Eastern Conference's best record in 2016-17.The rookie has given the Celtics excellent production with 14.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He's also tied for third on the team in defensive win shares (0.7), per Basketball Reference.This setback for Tatum will impact Boston's depth, but the roster still has quality pieces with Jaylen Brown and Kyrie Irving carrying the load in the starting five. Semi Ojeleye will likely be moved into a more prominent role at forward until Tatum can return.
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