Jayson Tatum

Sure, there were some who thought it would be worthwhile for the Celtics to split the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown duo with a trade. But that group was a small ...

They’ve fallen in line enough to get the Celtics onto the NBA’s biggest stage, to put Brown and Tatum into the spotlight with a title on the line. We made a couple moves in the front office that were vital for us, and things started to fall in line.” Still, it is a storyline that has drawn considerable attention at the NBA Finals, one that has been convenient to resurrect now that we can see, plainly, how wrong it was. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, writing on January 15: “I'm amused by the notion Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are too similar to work together. While those voices got attention, there was never any real consideration given to splitting Brown and Tatum in the Celtics’ front office—it was all just opinion and hypothetical scenarios. Playing half their games without one of the two stars made adjusting to new coach Ime Udoka’s schemes all the more difficult. There was far more sentiment against splitting up Tatum and Brown, even as the Celtics scuffled, because they’re both rare NBA talents and it is not easy to collect two on one roster. The break-up argument was unfair all along, really, because much of the Celtics’ stumbling and bumbling start to the season was not so much a matter of whether Brown and Tatum could succeed together, but whether they could get on the floor together at all. As soon as Boston’s Finals ticket was punched, we were reminded of the inane conversations that went down five or six months ago about the viability of the Brown and Tatum pairing as a legitimate contender. Veteran reporter Jeff Goodman has been a longtime proponent of sending Brown packing and stuck with that early this season. Thing is, it was a very small minority of media folks who were carrying the break-’em-up flag. One thing to be said for the American sports media: Generally, they’re very good at self-flagellation, flinging up bad past takes from colleagues and pointing out just how wrong, in retrospect, those takes were.

The 2022 NBA Finals is, in a way, a battle of the old guard vs the new. It's not totally fair to label the Golden State Warriors “old,” because their ...

The 33-year-old Curry has been vintage in the 2022 playoffs, with 25.9 points and 3.8 three-pointers per game. But Curry and the Warriors likely won’t have many more cracks at the title, which should put more pressure on them than the Celtics to win this series. Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. The Warriors have dealt with major injuries to their stars in recent years, particularly Thompson, and Curry missed time earlier in the 2021-22 season. But they’ve been an elite team in the NBA since the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum was The 2022 NBA Finals is, in a way, a battle of the old guard vs the new.

During Boston's Game 7 win in the Eastern Conference Finals in Miami, you may have taken note of a few things besides the final score.

That was my favorite player. That was my inspiration. “That was my idol.

Getting drafted into the NBA can quite literally change someone's life. Many athletes have gone from living in poverty during their childhood to making.

I remember coming home and it being a pink eviction notice on the house and my mom crying the whole night and me being upset. I mean, we had a blue tarp on the whole right side of the side because we didn’t have money to fix the roof.” If it weren't for her, we may never have seen Tatum flourish into the talent that he is today.

As Celtics struggled early, calls grew louder to break up Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. They extinguished that storyline and are in the NBA Finals.

"Asked a lot to be put on his shoulders and has delivered." In the Miami series, Tatum earned the first Larry Bird Trophy given to the best player in the East finals. Tatum and Brown were at the heart of that turnaround. Brown said, "I will always have unwavering faith even in the midst of situations that look like things are about to go in a direction that nobody wants to go in. A nine-game winning streak in February. Five in a row to start the month of March. Six in a row later in March. From Jan. 29 through March 27, the Celtics were 22-3. By the night of March 27, the Celtics were 47-28 and tied for first place in the East. Under Udoka, Tatum improved as a playmaker, more willing to trust his passing and his teammates. Not necessarily prove people wrong, but just prove that we can win and put ourselves in a position to do that." As the season progressed, the Celtics were healthier, and they began to grasp the offensive and defensive concepts that Udoka installed. They didn’t allow the team’s struggles to have a detrimental effect on their relationship or allow outside opinions to drive them apart. "I honestly believe just two young, extremely competitive guys that just really want to win at all costs," Tatum offered as an explanation of why it worked. It wasn’t just the sports network trumpeting the demise of that partnership.

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics are in California to face off with the Golden State Warriors for Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

- SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? The Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ended their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. Prior to missing the postseason for two straight years, they had been to the Finals five times in a row. Tatum has been to the Conference Finals three times in his young career, but this is first time playing in the Finals.

Tatum barely scored in Game 1, but he made the winning plays the Celtics needed to take the lead in the NBA Finals.

When White went into the paint and draw a crowd, he would pass to an empty spot in the corner for Brown to jump out on the couch and bury the shot. When Brown got the ball off a defensive rebound, Tatum would leak out to the corner to open the lane and spark the ball movement. When the Celtics got to the final minutes of Game 1 with a double-digit lead, there was still that nagging fear that the offense would stagnate as Boston tried to run down the clock and Curry would shoot the Warriors back into it. Udoka was going to put the ball in his hands even more, and it was on him to honor that responsibility. “I think that was kind of his message from Day 1, just to challenge me to be the best player that I can be and improve other areas of my game,” Tatum said about Udoka. “We watched a lot of film throughout the course of the season of games — just areas, things I could improve on. “All year leading up to this, we’ve been kind of grooming and preparing Jayson for these moments where teams are going to key in on you so much that they try to take you out of the game,” Smart said. Tatum didn’t hide how much the All-NBA snub bothered him last season and knew he had to be a winner if he wanted to reach the first team this year. Tatum was a plus-27 in the fourth quarter, and he didn’t even score. But the pieces of a champion orbit around its stars, and that’s what the organization has been preparing Brown and Tatum for. “The teams that win in the postseason are all about player movement and ball movement,” Hanlen said. “In past years, (Tatum’s) focus has been on scoring and being able to carry the load on the offensive end through scoring. As Tatum ran up and down the floor watching the comeback take place around him, he never forced his way into the flow of the game.

Even though he had an off shooting night, Jayson Tatum still managed to make a big impact in the Celtics' Game 1 NBA Finals win.

We’re in the Finals. All I was worried about was trying to get a win, and we did. Perhaps Tatum’s biggest point of growth in this game was the way he handled help defenders blitzing him and full-on double teams. I just tried to impact the game in other ways. “When they went a box-and-one on him to try to take him out, it made it tough at times, but that’s why we’re a team. We’re in the championship. Well, that skill set was on full display on the biggest stage in Game 1. That’s what I was just trying to do.” When asked what he thought was the biggest change in his game that elevated him to that position, the 24-year-old cited his playmaking ability. 40 points in the fourth quarter? But Thursday night, he was totally in control. However, that shooting performance hardly kept Tatum from impacting the game. In 42 minutes on the floor, Tatum scored just 12 points while shooting 3-of-17 from the floor and 1-of-5 from deep.

Tatum totaled 12 points (3-17 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 5-7 FT), five rebounds, 13 assists and one steal in 42 minutes during Thursday's 120-108 victory over the ...

Celtics star Jayson Tatum just matched John Stockton's 15-year-old NBA Finals record with seven assists in the first half vs. the Warriors in Game 1.

Jayson Tatum didn’t have his best scoring half, but he did rack up 7 assists in the first two quarters of Game 1. It goes without saying that Tatum and his playmaking definitely played a key role in this. the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, but perhaps it isn’t time to crown a new king just yet.

Published: Jun. 03, 2022, 5:45 a.m.. tatum. Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum drives toward the basket as Golden State Warriors guard ...

“He’s the kind of guy that he’s going to figure it out. We’re in the Finals. All I was worried about was trying to get a win, and we did. “What he did well and did early was get others involved. “I love his growth and progression in those areas,” Udoka continued. I just tried to impact the game in other ways. But as his Celtics teammates got hot from the outside, Tatum was plenty happy to stop shooting and focus on just getting them the ball.

Despite shooting poorly, Jayson Tatum broke an NBA Finals record in Game 1. Here's why the Golden State Warriors should be terrified.

Stephen Curry and the Dubs aren’t out of this series, but they must figure out a way to slow Tatum and the Celtics’ role players down. But the Duke product has been both a facilitator and scorer in the playoffs before, recording 29 points and eight assists in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this year. They have a deep team and the three-point king, Stephen Curry. However, they should be nervous about Tatum’s facilitating role in Game 1. The Warriors will have to continue focusing on Tatum, which could leave shooters like White and Marcus Smart wide open. With 7:09 left and the Celtics trailing 99-94, Tatum dished out an assist to Pritchard, whose long-range basket trimmed the score to 99-97. However, Tatum broke the record for total assists in a Finals debut with 13.

Ime Udoka and Al Horford (who had a career night of his own) both said it after the game — it was Brown who made the difference in Game 1, and now the ...

Before the Warriors knew it, they were barraged with Celtic make after Celtic make, the kind of scoring onslaught they usually deliver rather than endure. “[He] had a great start to the fourth quarter. Horford flexed for the Chase Center crowd, maybe 10 percent of whom could tell you who Nate Thurmond was, after what would be the Celtics’ final basket of the night. But Brown helped punctuate the victory with a nifty dish to Horford for a conventional 3-point play with 48.3 seconds left. It was the start of something, something special and something that will be remembered for a long time if the Celtics prevail in this series. “I think that for us the key was Jaylen Brown,” said Horford from the postgame podium.

Jayson Tatum's had a few shooting stinkers so far during the Celtics' run into the NBA Finals. He added another one in his Finals debut. Tatum shot 3-for-17 and 1-for-5 from deep in Game 1 against the Warriors. But there was one big difference between ...

“Yeah, I think that was kind of his message from day one, just to challenge me to be the best player that I can be and improve other areas of my game,” said Tatum. “We watched a lot of film throughout the course of the season of games, just areas, things I could improve on. In that offseason and into the regular season, Udoka constantly stated one of his main goals was to get Tatum and Jaylen Brown to improve as playmakers. Udoka and Tatum both certainly seemed pleased with the young star’s 13 assists, which were the most by a player in their first Finals game. “When they went a box-and-one on him to try to take him out, it made it tough at times, but that’s why we’re a team. Seven or nine assists pretty early in the game, finished with 13, and the shots not falling, he still attracts a good amount of attention, made the right plays. He had three assists in the first quarter and seven at halftime.

Jayson Tatum didn't let his off-night rattle him from contributing in other ways. Tatum finished Game 1 with a Finals record-tying 13 assists.

To top it off, Tatum finished a plus-27 in the fourth despite not scoring. This time around, Tatum played second-fiddle to Brown and the Celtics’ collection of role players. “In past years, (Tatum’s) focus has been on scoring and being able to carry the load on the offensive end through scoring. When the Celtics capped off their comeback win with a Horford and-1, Tatum baited the Warriors into blitzing him. Instead, Tatum initiated the sequence intended for a White corner three that eventually ended with Horford hitting his first back-breaking triple to retake the lead they wouldn’t look back on. “For us, it’s just to make sure he stays confident and knows that even though they’re doing a good job on you, you still who you are, and we got your back. It was Tatum who dimed Horford for his second straight triple that gave Boston a six-point lead late in the fourth. “I think the biggest thing is the advice that Michael Jordan gave Kobe Bryant: At the end of the day, the only thing that people are going to judge you on is if you get the job done or not,” Hanlen said. Boston entered the fourth quarter down 12 points but was confident going into the final frame of Game 1. We’re in the finals. We know what it takes to overcome a deficit like that,” Tatum said. We’re in the championship.

The Warriors held Jayson Tatum to 12 points but his fingerprints were still all over Game 1. TSN's Scott Rafferty breaks down how Boston's superstar picked ...

A scary sign for the Warriors: Tatum has had several rough shooting games in these playoffs and he's responded in a big way each time. He's only shooting 43.4 percent from the field, but he's more than capable of getting going from all three levels and putting up big numbers. "What he did well and did early was get others involved. That leads to Green helping off of Robert Williams III to protect the rim. Obviously going 3-17, that's usually not going to happen. Put Stephen Curry in a pick-and-roll in an effort to get him switched onto Tatum. It helps that Celtics not named Tatum shot the lights out from 3-point range — nine of his 13 assists led to a 3-pointer, according to ESPN's Matt Williams, the most ever in a Finals game — but it was his relentless attacking that forced the Warriors to collapse in ways that created those opportunities. So, you know, obviously it's just as simple as if you draw two, find somebody that's open. Tatum used all of the attention the Warriors were paying him to his advantage time... To avoid the switch and prevent Tatum from getting a straight-line drive to the basket, the Warriors have Curry hedge... Tatum doesn't get the switch he's looking for, but he is able to get a step on Andre Iguodala and attacks the basket. There was a specific way that Tatum was able to punish the Warriors with his passing in Game 1.

Jayson Tatum met with the media after the Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriros in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at the Chase Center.

- SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? The Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ended their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. This is the first time in Tatum's career that he has been to the Finals, and in the first game the Celtics looked like they had been there before. The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors by a score of 120-108 on Thursday evening to take on Game 1 of the NBA Finals on the road in California at the Chase Center.

Jayson Tatum finished Game 1 of the NBA Finals with more assists than points, something he has no problem with if it leads to the Celtics earning three more ...

He added: "His shot's not falling, (but) he still attracts a good amount of attention. And it was to help the team out as much as possible. He's evolved to the point where he consistently makes the correct read. Tatum dished out 13 assists in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. No one else on either side had more than five. That's a product of the Warriors' determination not to let him beat them as a scorer, a lack of luck, missing many clean looks, and some jitters from playing on this stage for the first time. Thursday, the recently minted All-NBA First Team member answered the call in a record-setting fashion.

Jayson Tatum had a rough shooting night in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals, but he still found ways to help the Celtics defeat the Warriors on the road.

It goes without saying that the Celtics need Tatum to play a lot better offensively to win this series. He showed off his much-improved playmaking skills with a game-high 13 assists. Tatum shot 3-of-17 from the field, including a 1-of-5 mark from 3-point range.