The end of the Boston Celtics' Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks on Monday was devastating. Far worse than going down 3-1 in their second-round series was the fact that Jayson Tatum was lost for the remainder of this run (and likely next season) after rupturing his Achilles tendon.

Sixteen teams in total make the NBA playoffs, eight teams from both the Eastern and Western Conference. The top six seeds in each conference advance based on the regular season record. The final two seeds in each conference are determined by the NBA Play-In Tournament.

The Boston Celtics are the defending champions in the NBA for a number of reasons. Among which is the fact that they have a talented roster led by the duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. They also have Derrick White and Jrue Holiday in the backcourt.

The Celtics’ worst fears were confirmed. Their nightmare became reality. Jayson Tatum did in fact tear his right Achilles and underwent surgery on Tuesday, the team announced. He is likely to miss all of next season as a result.

After losing Game 4 and star forward Jayson Tatum at Madison Square Garden, the Boston Celtics dropped from ... Daily Lines | Where to watch | NBA Playoff Bracket Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder ...

Celtics star Jaylen Brown wasn't all doom and gloom after Boston blew Game 2 and slipped into an 0-2 hole against the New York Knicks.

That Tatum languished in such clear pain for such a long period of time had many fearing the worst beyond just the series ramifications.

Rumbles that Tatum might be able to play again much sooner than a calendar year give or take a month have begun to percolate.