Since being drafted by the Boston Celtics in 2017, Jayson Tatum has all the time been the soft-spoken kind. I’m undecided there’s ever been an occasion the place he’s mentioned one thing that’s made me go, “Wait, what’d he say?”
It simply doesn’t occur with JT.
The summer time of 2024 was one stuffed with scrutiny and criticism for Tatum, regardless of him and the Cs capturing the franchise’s 18th NBA title in June, and he STILL by no means bought defensive.
Thoughts you, some of these items was ridiculous. From criticizing his reactions to successful a championship, to saying he lacks “aura,” it bought fairly foolish. On high of that, he discovered himself watching from the sidelines in the course of the Olympics.
“Positively a humbling expertise, proper?” Tatum told The Athletic’s Joe Vardon of his benching on the Olympics. “Win a championship, new contract, cowl of (NBA) 2K and then you definitely sit an entire recreation. Cowl of Sports activities Illustrated. So, it was undoubtedly a humbling expertise.”
Although he by no means responded to any of the critics, Tatum heard the noise.
“It was quite a bit. Within the age of social media, you see every thing,” Tatum told The Athletic’s Jared Weiss again in August. “You see all of the tweets and the folks on the podcasts and other people on TV giving their opinion on whether or not they thought it was a very good determination or it was an outrageous determination or no matter.
It’s virtually like he sat there, stewing, all summer time lengthy after which took all of it out on the New York Knicks on Opening Evening and he let his recreation do his speaking.
Tuesday’s efficiency might have been probably the most dominant of No. 0’s NBA profession. It was evident proper from the opening tip when he poured in 15 first-quarter factors.
Tatum completed the night time with 37 factors on an environment friendly 13-17 from the sphere. He was environment friendly in his passing as nicely. He dished out 10 assists whereas committing only one turnover. Even the passes that didn’t immediately end in an help had been completely surgical.
In keeping with longtime Celtics stat guru, Dick Lipe, Tatum’s efficiency was traditionally environment friendly.
Of their historical past, the Celtics have performed 6,115 common season video games and 738 playoff video games.
Jayson Tatum is the primary Celtic to ever amass at the least 36 factors and 10 assists whereas capturing at the least 75%.
— Dick Lipe (@DickLipe) October 23, 2024
“I’m happy with how he shot the ball and dominated in all the areas,” mentioned Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. “He picked his spots very well, took the pictures that he needed. The man simply works exhausting every single day. He doesn’t enable issues to get in the best way of what’s most necessary. That confirmed tonight.”
Per common, Tatum didn’t converse a lot on the criticism that he obtained over the summer time, however quite credited the staff as an entire for his or her excessive stage of play and the work that they put in at apply.
“I assumed we picked up from the place we left off final 12 months. We introduced virtually all people again. We performed to our strengths and we all know what we’re attempting to do. We all know the units and actions to get into and we work on that on a regular basis. Work on reads, , each single day at apply.”
That’s what they are saying about character.
It’s the way you act when nobody is watching.
