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BOSTON – Jayson Tatum hit LeBron James last year in N.B.A. playoffs. You may remember it. Tatum, the 21-year-old Boston Celtics swingman, is certainly one.
The dunk shot a "wow" from TV broadcaster Mike Breen. A journalist wrote on Twitter In the locker room afterwards, he heard James say that Tatum had "upset" him, before James repeated four times: "He's so good."
"I have a big ass picture at home," Tatum said in a post-workout interview Tuesday.
The dunk arrived in the fourth quarter of the seventh game of the Eastern Conference final last year. Starting from outside the 3-point line, Tatum took two dribbles with his left hand to reach the edge before hitting a right-handed dunk in front of James, who attempted a stalemate as a defender. Tatum followed the blast with a bust of James, one of his childhood idols, as if to say, "I am here."
The Celtics lost that match, but the dunk solidified Tatum, who played a season at Duke, as N.B.A. star.
After the disappointing Celtics season this season, Tatum's star was not as bright in the playoffs as Boston faced the Indiana Pacers in the first round. Many did not think he would make the jump: Although he improved as a rebounder and passer, his throwing selection earned him longer 2-point markers, boosting his shot percentage. real of 0.586 in his rookie campaign to 0.547 this year. , placing it below .560, the league average.
He increased the frequency of his mid-range jumpers but decreased his accuracy by making them: 37% instead of 44%. Many of his advanced metric stats, including quarterly playoffs, value versus replacement player and box plus / minus, were worse this year.
Tatum is in an unusual place, compared to his compatriot N.B.A. second-year students like Donovan Mitchell (Utah) and Ben Simmons (Philadelphia). The more Tatum plays well, especially in the playoffs, the more likely it is to be linked to commercial rumors, including those involving New Orleans pelicans star Anthony Davis, who has demanded a deal that could change the competitive balance of NBA
Many beginners in this year's final were older than Tatum. But if he can not keep up with the hype he created in last year's playoffs – that is, if he simply becomes an extra guard – Pelicans would be more inclined to accept a Los Angeles Lakers package or another team outside of Boston. At the same time, if Celtics leader Kyrie Irving opts for free will this summer, the future of the franchise could rest on the shoulders of Tatum. Barely 21 years old, he would be the alpha.
The future of Tatum is more uncertain than many other players who were quickly hailed. But in one way or another, the Celtics need Tatum to be awesome. Not just for this year's playoffs, but for the future.
In short, they need him to prosper.
During a conversation at the Celtics' practice center about his future and his atypical issues, Tatum was ready to talk, but he had talked about it several times before. He looked straight ahead, without looking into his eyes, as he read the script in his head.
"Commercial rumors do not bother me," he says in a deep, monotonous tone. "They talk about swapping me against guys like Anthony Davis. So, I mean, I have to do something right. When asked if it bothered him, he did not move: "I like basketball. Being traded is part of the game. I will play for anyone. It's something that I can not control. "
He did not have much more to say than that. But it's Tatum's personality, said Brad Stevens, the Celtics head coach. No distractions. That, says Stevens, is his best quality.
"Circumstances do not affect him," said Stevens. "First game of the season, he is not affected by the nervousness of everyone. Seventh part of a playoff series? Unaffected. At least he is indifferent and can thrive in this environment. "
Stevens said Tatum's playing quality improved as he progressed through the season. He became a better smuggler, averaging 2.8 assists after the All Star break, compared to 1.9 before. But his shots went from 38% of the depths before the break to 35% after.
Last season, Tatum took advantage of the Celtics' unfortunate expectations after injuries to Irving, forward Gordon Hayward and Daniel Theis reserve. But he also helped bring Boston to a victory of an unlikely N.B.A. final appearance. This year, "unlikely" does not appear in the playoff vocabulary. The Celtics are supposed to get there. And Boston fans, who have never been so positive, can encourage a player to play in one second. If the Celtics do not move forward, as many analysts predict, fans could see the Tatum season with a cruel eye, given the size of the group's fortunes.
Tatum said that he was not so nervous about the playoffs this time around. A daily nap with his son aged 16 months before the party helped. The first returns were positive: in the first match of the series against the Pacers, Tatum scored 15 points on 11 shots. He was over 11 in 34 minutes when the Celtics ran away with a win.
But there was no climax that equaled the dunk on James. Tatum shook his head when asked if he had ever talked to James about this piece. A hint of a smile betrays his practiced behavior.
"They won, so they had the last word," Tatum said.
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