Tim Bontemps May 3, 2026, 02:30 PM ET Close Tim Bontemps is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com who covers the league and what's impacting it on and off the court, including trade deadline intel, expansion and his MVP Straw Polls. You can find Tim alongside Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon on The Hoop Collective podcast. BOSTON -- Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum said it was "unfortunate timing" that he was forced to watch Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers from the bench in street clothes because of left knee stiffness. Speaking a day after he missed the Celtics' 109-100 loss in Game 7, Tatum elaborated on his comeback from last season's torn right Achilles, along with his recent knee injury. "My recovery and comeback [from the Achilles injury] were going so well that how it ended, I didn't think it was going to end that way. It was just unfortunate," Tatum said Sunday. "I worked really, really, really, really hard to come back in the fashion that I did and play at the level I was playing at.…