Celtics’ Jayson Tatum on Warriors loss: “It’s all about how we respond.”

Of their first matchup since Recreation 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors confronted off final night time on the Chase Heart in San Francisco. What ensued was an underwhelming effort from the Celtics as they fell to the Warriors, 123-107.

Boston appeared out of kinds, and it felt like the burden of the second bought to them. With all the issues they’ve performed nicely this season seemingly forgotten, the loss gave flashbacks of their Finals collapse, and all of these previous ghosts got here to life. Most notably, Jayson Tatum struggled underneath the Warriors protection, as they continued to throw our bodies and double protection at him as quickly because the ball touched his palms; there have been barely any moments the place the MVP candidate appeared comfy on the offensive finish. Tatum completed the night time with 18 factors on 6-of-21 taking pictures, 2-of-9 from deep, 7 rebounds, a pair of assists and turnovers, three steals and a block.

Regardless of the loss, the Celtics have remained grounded within the second and never let down video games deter them, and rightfully so. The group remains to be 21-6 on the season, with the perfect document within the NBA, and have performed so with out their defensive cornerstone Robert Williams. A loss like final night time just isn’t indicative of the group’s progress or development since final season, nor would a win have meant they’re a shoe-in to win the NBA Finals. Very like basketball being a sport of runs, the NBA season is a marathon and Boston isn’t even on the midway level. To make daring claims on both facet of the fence is half-baked at greatest.

“I feel they actually locked in on him, making it arduous for him,” stated Malcolm Brogdon on how Golden State defended teammate Jayson Tatum. “However I believed he missed photographs that he makes 95% of the time. He’ll make them subsequent sport, and once we play (the Warriors) once more, he’s gonna make these photographs. We don’t lose belief in him. He’s going to be our man regardless.” Very like every other Celtics season, this group will go so far as their stars can convey them; the locker room realizes this, they usually’re not about to lose focus or religion over a bump within the highway.

When requested about what Tatum has to do higher, Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla got here to the protection of his star participant and took possession. ““He doesn’t must do something higher, we (teaching workers) must be higher,” stated Mazzulla. “We’ve bought to place him in higher spots in sure moments of the sport, really feel the sport and get him to a spot to the place he could make a play for our group.”

“I missed a variety of a variety of layups,” stated Tatum of his sub-par sport amidst an MVP season. “Obtained two fouls within the first quarter, missed some open threes. They’re a superb group, we clearly we bought some historical past with them. They’ve been enjoying higher as of these days, and that well-balanced, gifted group on each ends, they make it powerful on you. I feel I simply…perhaps my contact was off, however simply a variety of simple ones I missed made it a little bit powerful tonight.”

Photograph by Jed Jacobsohn/NBAE through Getty Pictures

There are classes to be discovered from the sport, and within the public eye, the loss goes to carry weight just because it was towards the Warriors. “Tonight was in all probability extra significant to you guys than it was to us,” stated Tatum on the loss. “It’s one sport. We need to win each sport we play for certain, but it surely’s powerful. We by no means need to lose, we’ve been enjoying nicely, and to lose this one, particularly with the best way we performed, is hard. Nevertheless it’s not going to dictate our season… it’s all about how we reply.”

For what it’s price, Tatum is true. This sort of loss could be irritating, there are issues for certain to be upset about, but it surely in the end is what it’s. It’s a quantity in a column, one other line to be tallied, one other alternative to study and develop. It doesn’t must be something extra to this Celtics group, and the perfect factor they will do is maintain their religion within the face of the franchise.

The Celtics can have an opportunity to get heading in the right direction on Monday with a matchup towards the Clippers, 10:30 pm EST tipoff.