Following the Achilles tendon injury Jayson Tatum suffered in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Boston Celtics are expected to embrace a “gap year.” Interestingly, the same can be said about the Indiana Pacers, who lost Tyrese Haliburton to an Achilles tendon injury during Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Neither Boston nor Indiana will like the idea of sitting out a year. Both Joe Mazzulla and Rick Carlisle will have high hopes for their current rosters, despite their star players being absent from the rotation. For Boston, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White will now be tasked with stepping into bigger roles, and both are believed to be more than capable of embracing the additional workload.

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During a recent episode of the “Locked On Pacers” podcast, host Tony East was joined by John Karalis to discuss the Celtics’ upcoming season, the notion of a “gap year,” and why it’s unlikely either team will embrace the mindset as we enter the 2025-26 NBA season.

You can watch the full episode by clicking on the embedded video above.

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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Will the Celtics embrace a gap year?