The Boston Celtics wanted to bounce back two days after their heartbreaking overtime loss to the Miami Heat, and they did just that after they took home a 103-92 win over rivals Brooklyn Nets on the road. Jayson Tatum, in particular, was able to bounce back from a rough shooting night last Friday, after he shot 10-19 from the field to rebound from a 5-18 effort.
However, Tatum couldn't seem to take care of the ball all night long, even as the Celtics vowed to cut on their turnovers following Friday's loss.
Jayson Tatum finished the night with nine turnovers, accounting for 60 percent of Boston's turnovers on the night. Nonetheless, while he knows he can definitely be better, he is relieved that the Celtics still managed to pull out the victory.
“I'm just glad we won. Nine turnovers? That’s ridiculous. And some of them, I was just throwing that s–t out of bounds. The ball was kind of slippery. The one I thew to Al to the corner and he shot it.. that s–t went to the air. But I mean there’s no excuse,” Tatum said after the game, per HoopsHype.
Jayson Tatum: "I'm just glad we won. Nine turnovers? That’s ridiculous. And some of them, I was just throwing that s*** out of bounds. The ball was kind of slippery. The one I thew to Al to the corner and he shot it.. that s*** went to the air. But I mean there’s no excuse." pic.twitter.com/Plgv6nmaCC
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) December 5, 2022
Perhaps the ball, indeed, was slippery, as even Kevin Durant had eight turnovers, almost matching his superstar counterpart giveaway for giveaway. One point of improvement for Jayson Tatum as he tries to reach another level in his career will be his playmaking, but a 1:9 assist-to-turnover ratio shows just how much room there is for him to grow his game.
“The bright side is, [I had] nine turnovers and we won. I would have felt terrible, you know, had we lost the game. But obviously, [I] can't do that often or anymore and expect us to win,” Tatum added.
The Celtics, being the deep team they are, can certainly give Jayson Tatum a considerable margin for error in the turnover department. However, Tatum knows that they have lofty championship aspirations, and it's difficult to win a championship without taking care of the ball at the highest level. And given how he has performed this season, the 24-year old Celtics superstar has definitely earned the benefit of the doubt that he will, indeed, polish that side of his game.
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