Throughout All-Star weekend in Indianapolis final season, Jayson Tatum met Celtics icon Larry Chook for the primary time. Now as a reigning champion in Boston, the 26-year-old joined the Corridor of Famer in unique firm after Wednesday night time’s win.
Boston defeated the Wizards, 122-102 in Washington, placing the Celtics at an ideal 2-0 begin with two straight 20-plus-point victories. Tatum, main the cost with one other double-double to observe Banner Evening’s masterpiece, scored 25 factors with 11 rebounds and 6 assists to earn one other fourth quarter of relaxation. That made Tatum the second participant ever in league historical past to log not less than 62 factors, 15 rebounds and 16 assists within the first two video games to start out a season, per NBC Sports activities Boston’s Dick Lipe. The opposite? Chook.
“Simply to piggyback off (Joe Mazzulla’s message), proceed to dominate on the ground and all of the areas that stats present and all of the areas that stats don’t present,” Tatum informed reporters, as seen on NBC Sports activities Boston’s postgame protection. “And that’s screening, slicing, creating benefits for my teammates and clearly getting concerned in making performs and rebounding and issues like that.”
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Tatum continued the effectivity, taking pictures 9-of-20 from the sphere and shaking off a 3-for-11 output from 3-point vary. He gave Wizards 7-foot rookie Alex Sarr, the second total choose within the 2024 draft, nightmares on their 1-on-1 matchups, most notably with the impolite welcome-to-the-NBA awakening of Tatum’s shake-and-bake step-back three within the second quarter. Sarr was fazed by Tatum’s mission-expanding night time and logged a forgettable NBA debut of his personal, ending a minus-22 with two factors on seven photographs.
Clearly, the brand new and upset Tatum, even with a 15-carat championship ring on his finger, isn’t content material with final season and final season solely. The summer time of disrespect, wherein Tatum additionally inked a record-large $315 million, has caught intently with Tatum like white on rice. Washington, within the course of, grew to become Tatum’s subsequent sufferer caught within the fireplace.
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Turning into a byproduct — with a traditionally spectacular output — of Steve Kerr’s incompetency as USA Basketball’s head coach and Tatum’s private taking pictures woes from final postseason, up to now, has been harmful. It’s saved the Celtics locked in, not simply from Opening Evening, however from coaching camp and the preseason.
It’s solely been two video games, however a blemish has but to seem.
“I feel having the identical mindset of we method the whole lot the identical, we simply attempt to get somewhat bit higher,” Tatum defined, per NBC Sports activities Boston. “We’ve revered each opponent, we revered each follow day and I feel it paid off ultimately. It’s gonna be more durable this 12 months, clearly. Human nature may play part of — clearly trigger what we did final 12 months and having to struggle that however I feel we’re heading in the right direction.”
