Jayson Tatum played the most minutes in the playoffs among any player, and his old head coach had a piece of advice for him.
Jayson Tatum had a phenomenal year for the Boston Celtics this year. Even though he didn’t perform well in the NBA Finals, he had a great run in the playoffs.
Tatum played the entire season and missed very less games. Moreover, prior to the start of the season, he was part of the Olympic Team that won the Gold Medal.
His old head coach Brad Stevens who is now in the front office of the Celtics had some words to say about him. Stevens was the coach when Tatum came into the NBA, and they certainly share a good relationship with each other.
Talking about what he said to Tatum after the season ended, Stevens said, “I just told him to go on vacation,” He added, “This guy gave us everything he had. When you look at the minutes, when you look at the games played … I’ve said this many times: He’s a superstar that doesn’t want to sit.”
Brad Stevens further said, “He wants to play, he wants to play all the time. I thought that in the Finals, obviously, I think he would be the first to say that he would like to have some of those moments back, but I thought there were other contributing factors to how he played.”
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum proved everyone wrong this season. Many believed the duo wont work alongside each other, but they showed that they are the future of this franchise.
Both Tatum and Brown had a great run during the playoffs and complimented each other quite well. The Celtics made immense progress this season, as they were able to turn around their season pretty quick and won the Eastern Conference.
Talking about the star duo, Brad Stevens said, “The way I try to look at it is, obviously, we’re all subjective in every moment and react emotionally, but when you start looking at it objectively and more so historically, what Jayson and Jaylen have done in the playoffs, historically at their ages, is rarified air,”
Stevens said. “I think we’re very cognizant of the fact that even though Jayson would admittedly not have played his best series, there’s no chance we’re there without him and without all of his great play all the way through.”
The former Celtics head coach highlighted the game Tatum had in game 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks. He said, “I think back to all of the times … Game 6 in Milwaukee was one of the best games I’ve seen an individual play in my time, certainly in person and with the Celtics. Without that performance, we would have had this discussion a month and a half ago.”
The Boston Celtics had a great chance of winning the championship, but they failed. However, you can’t take anything away from them, as they had a great season this year.
Nobody saw them winning the East this year, but they did. None of their players are going anywhere, and this could be the start of something very special in Boston.
Talking about how Boston played well this season due to the quality of the team, Stevens said, “I think we have to walk a fine line a little bit,” Stevens said. “I think teams are fragile. I think the way teams work together and operate together are fragile.”
He added, “And I think your identity as a team, when you find one that’s successful, which we did this year on the defensive end of the floor and when we were at our best sharing the ball offensively, those things are fragile. So just to add doesn’t mean that you’re not taking something away from the group.“
Hopefully, the Boston Celtics will be able to make minor adjustments to their squad in the offseason, which will make them a contender again next season.
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