Orlando Magic wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will not be popular in Boston over the hard foul that injured Jayson Tatum, but he has no regrets about the situation.
Tatum is considered doubtful for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first round on Wednesday night after he landed hard on his right wrist following a hard foul by Caldwell-Pope in Game 1. Some Celtics players, particularly Al Horford, felt that the Magic crossed a line with their physicality, which led to the injury.
Caldwell-Pope was not buying that narrative. He said Wednesday that he was just playing “playoff basketball.”
“This is how I’ve been playing in playoff basketball,” Caldwell-Pope said. “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.
“I don’t know what happened (regarding Tatum’s injury). 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.”
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope told me this morning the play on Jayson Tatum was "just a foul. Playoff basketball. That's all I gotta say on it."
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) April 23, 2025
"I didn't hear any comments (from Horford). I'm not worried about any comments. At the end of the day, this is how I play…"
Caldwell-Pope cont.: "…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."
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) April 23, 2025
KCP on Tatum's injury: "I don't know what happened. 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."
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) April 23, 2025
Caldwell-Pope was ultimately called for a flagrant-1 foul on the play, and there was definitely some frustration from Boston’s side after the game. That only got worse when Tatum was ruled doubtful for Game 2.
Orlando’s hard-nosed play has rubbed opponents the wrong way all season. They are not about to change now, though it will provide some extra heat for their first-round series.
