These are the NBA playoffs of survival, where not even the stars are safe.The latest huge blow to this postseason: Jayson Tatum was wheeled off Monday night, with every preliminary indication there being that he won’t be around to finish this season with the defending champion Boston Celtics.Golden State’s Stephen Curry may run out of time before his injured hamstring allows him to play again. Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell is dealing with an ankle issue. If the Los Angeles Lakers’ season had gone any deeper, LeBron James would have been sidelined with a knee sprain. And Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard tore his Achilles, putting next season in some doubt and raising questions about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future as well.The star power is gone in some cases, aching in others, and there’s no question that injuries are becoming the story of this postseason. For Lillard — and now possibly Tatum, depending on what the MRI and other exams show — injuries could be part of the story next season as well.“Obviously we want to go out there and compete, but when a player of his caliber goes down and he’s rolling in pain like that, you know something’s wrong,” New York guard Jalen Brunson said after seeing Tatum’s injury on Monday night. “So, that’s why I just gave my thoughts and prayers — because you never want to see something like that, ever.”Injuries are a constant, and the regular season saw some big-name players forced to shut down much earlier than they wanted. Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid wasn’t right for basically the entire season because of knee issues, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving tore his ACL in March, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama developed a blood clot that forced his season to end in February, New Orleans’ Dejounte Murray tore his Achilles in January, Orlando’s Moritz Wagner tore his ACL in December and two stars with long injury histories — the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi …
