Jayson Tatum

SAN FRANCISCO - Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are absolutely making the most of their first trip to the NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics duo...

The Celtics’ path, however, complicated, has placed them just four wins from their ultimate goal: an NBA Championship. Whether they close the deal out and win the title remains to be seen. “I’ll be honest, for myself, there have been times where I questioned, ‘am I the right person to kind of lead a group like this?’ Jayson Tatum admitted. We made a couple moves in the front office that were vital for us, and things started to fall in line. Not necessarily prove people wrong, but just prove that we can win and put ourselves in a position to do that. As if that wasn’t enough, the Celtics again overcame a 3-2 deficit, this time upending the Miami Heat to reach the NBA Finals. I walk in, I see this backdrop, like, ‘Damn, I really am in the Finals.’” “Last year, obviously things didn’t work out, etc., for other reasons, but this year, I didn’t feel like it was because of the way we played basketball. “I think that we’ve been able to win in our career before,” Jaylen Brown said. They’ve gone through the ‘ups’ together and and had to face the ‘downs’ together as well. “We just wanted to figure it out. Through it all, they’ve learned to spread their wings and have become one of the best 1-2 punches in the NBA today. The Celtics duo reached the NBA Finals in their fifth season of playing together.

Jayson Tatum wore a Larry Bird T-shirt on the Celtics team flight to San Francisco. Tatum sported an armband with Kobe Bryant's number during Game 7 against ...

Magic Johnson scored 42 points and had 15 rebounds as a rookie starting at center in Game 6 of the 1980 Finals to win his first NBA title. The ascendancy of Bird and Magic carried the NBA into prime time. As did the rest of the Dream Teamers, Tim Duncan, Shaq, Kobe, the OG Big Three, LeBron, KD, Curry, etc. Tatum and the Celtics arrived in California with no pretense of “moral” victory. Laud Tatum for his appreciation of NBA history. Danny Ainge spent much of his playing career in Boston being on the receiving end of Bird’s verbal brutality. His 46-point performance at Milwaukee in Game 6 is his career highlight — pending the outcome of the NBA Finals. Tatum disappeared in Game 3 against Miami, scoring just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting in 41 minutes on the floor. They are +130 underdogs in the Finals. None other than Kendrick Perkins said it was time to “break up the Jays.” Drive-time callers from Haverhill to Hartford demanded Boston hit the reset button. Thankfully, Tatum is no longer a kid. My cynical side is waiting for Tatum to ask Curry for an autograph before Game 1. “We don’t celebrate Eastern Conference championships in this organization. Nor do they herald non-championships like their old Boston Garden landlords did during the late 20th century.

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.

Instead of a breakout game on the sport's biggest stage, the world got to see a clunker from Jayson Tatum. But the Celtics won anyway.

This was a game where defensive breakdowns allowed Stephen Curry to drop 21 points in the first quarter en route to draining 12 threes. Coming off a 10-point game in Milwaukee, Tatum dropped 30 in a win the following game. And they did it, really, with Tatum serving as a spectator/decoy for the bulk of the final quarter. But what he did well and did early was get others involved -- seven of nine assists early in the game, finished with 13. Twice this postseason, Tatum has scored 12 or fewer points in a game. It was a game with a lopsided third quarter, not completely dissimilar to Boston's Game 1 showing in Miami. It was a game where Jayson Tatum scored 12 points while shooting 17.6 percent from the field. Smart hit a couple of his own threes to stretch that lead even further. Tatum did contribute significantly to the win with a game-high 13 assists, making the most of the defensive attention paid to him by finding teammates for open looks. On the Celtics' next possession, he airballed a three. That is, quite obviously, a valuable contribution ... but Tatum didn't make the All-NBA First Team because of his distribution skills. Brown scored 10 points in the opening 4:22 of the fourth quarter, and White hit a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 103 apiece, and Horford nailed a pair of threes and a mid-range jumper to give Boston an eight-point lead. He made the right plays, and I love his growth and progression in those areas, where he's still guarding on the defensive end, still getting others involved, not pouting about his shots, and trying to play through some mistakes and some physicality that they were playing with him."

The Boston Celtics came from behind to shoot the lights out in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, with Jayson Tatum cast in a playmaking role.

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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 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.

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 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.

Jayson Tatum found a way to beat the Warriors when his shot wasn't falling in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. But that was hardly the first time the Celtics star ...

Make no mistake: The Celtics need Tatum to be an elite scorer. Tatum averaged less than four assists per game through the first three months of the regular season, even getting called out by teammate Marcus Smart for not sharing the ball enough. Remarkably, the C's have won three such games in a row -- with Tatum dropping 29 dimes over those three contests. It just shows his growth." "His playmaking has gotten better steadily. That's a tough look for your superstar in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. But the Boston Celtics found a way to defeat the Golden State Warriors 120-108 -- because Tatum found another way to be a superstar.

Tatum's 13 assists in Game 1 were a career-high and the most ever for a player in their Finals debut.

Again, a pick-and-roll gets Tatum a chance to attack Looney. He gets a step on him to the baseline, and Green is over in a flash to cut off the drive. He's the kind of guy that he's going to figure it out. Turning Tatum into a surefire playmaker has been a year-long odyssey for Udoka and the Celtics, and the hard work paid off in Game 1. The ball is already in the air as Porter is trying to get set, and that gives the Celtics the advantage. A risky proposition considering that while Tatum is prone to going ice cold at times, as he did in Game 1, he always bounces back. "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. Now, the Warriors have to decide whether they want to stay the course or adjust how they defend Tatum. "You have to be able to make plays and affect the game in different ways. In fact, the timing on his passes was so sharp that he often caught the Warriors' help defenders with their weight and momentum shifted towards him, giving them no chance to recover to the perimeter. You aren't going to make shots every night, but you can always control your approach; Tatum's was right on the money on Thursday. His 13 assists were a career-high, and also the most for any player in their Finals debut. Otto Porter Jr. instinctually shifts down towards the paint to try and cut off a drive, but Tatum reads that and makes the pass right away. With Tatum's shot abandoning him, Brown took over and either scored or assisted on 20 of their first 23 points in the frame.