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NBA fans expect big things from 6-foot-8 swingman Jayson Tatum this upcoming year, and the Boston Celtics youngster knows there will be a lot of pressure on he and his team. The Celtics are the prohibitive favorite in the Eastern Conference, though there are some questions about how all the talent will fit together now that Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward are healthy again.
According to Jake Fischer from Sports Illustrated's The Crossover, Tatum had this to say:
“We’re all professionals. We’re gonna find a way to make it work. At the end of the day, we all want to win, so everybody has to sacrifice when you want to be a part of something special. It’s not gonna be any different for us.”
The Celtics made big waves last offseason when they managed to acquire both Irving and Hayward. Adding two All-Star-caliber players made them look like the new superteam of the Eastern Conference. However, Hayward went down with a freak leg injury in the season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers that cost him his season.
This combined with Irving's injuries forced Tatum to play a bigger role than expected in the 2017-18 season. Tatum recorded 13.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in his rookie season. He elevated his game to 18.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in the postseason. The Duke product even managed to slam one home on LeBron James before the Cavaliers booted his Celtics from championship contention.
With Tatum, Irving, Hayward, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier on the roster, the Celtics have limitless scoring and playmaking potential. It's just a matter of picking your poison. Tatum is reportedly working on strengthening his legs and getting in the gym with his idol, Kobe Bryant, which could make him even more dangerous.
With LeBron out of the East, the Celtics have a strong case as NBA Finals contenders. Tatum believes that his coaching staff, teammates and trainers will help him get there this year. When asked about his confidence in head coach Brad Stevens, Tatum had this to say:
“He does a great job, he’s young so he can connect well with his players and he finds a good balance to get his players to trust in him. He knows what he’s doing. He puts players in the right spots and most of the time it works.”
Tatum is lucky to have moved from the tutelage of one basketball mastermind in Coach K at Duke to a prodigy like Stevens at the professional level. While it's likely that he could have made the jump to the NBA from high school, he is glad to have experienced a year of college, where he could get bigger, play more talented young players and learn about the game.
Tatum is prepared to shock skeptics and live up to the expectations set by his fans as he heads into his sophomore season.
