If Taco Jay can excise any lingering bad habits, Kobe-style fadeaways are likely at the top of the list. But eliminating point Tatum can’t be too far behind.
The Boston Celtics are rarely at their best when star forward Jayson Tatum freelances as the team’s point guard while bringing the ball up the floor. Yet, we see it fairly often even now in games after Boston paying a steep price for Tatum’s bad habits in more than one postseason run.
Now, an anonymous opposing NBA exec has shared with Heavy’s Steve Bulpett why he believes JT plays point guard, even with plenty of evidence his casual pace up the court is hurting the Celtics. “It’s when he gets tired,” they explained. “When you’re fatigued a little bit, you turn and get the ball, and you walk up at your pace.”
“If you don’t get the ball, then you have to run,” they added. “You’re required to run the court.”
“They’ve got point guards,” noted the exec. “Every one of them should dribble the ball up the court so he doesn’t have to. But that means he’s got to run. Remember the Finals against Golden State? He was bringing it up, and they were pressuring him.”
“I think that took something out of him and out of their offense. He’s too important to have him doing that job, too, unless he’s got the ball and sees an opening for transition.”
If Taco Jay can excise any lingering bad habits, Kobe-style fadeaways when not utterly necessary are likely at the top of the list. But eliminating point Tatum can’t be too far behind.
“Fundamentally, great players can play with great players, and they’re not positionally similar,” Rockets GM Rafael Stone says of Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun.
With some exceptions, the peaks of third-year center Alperen Sengun and guard Jalen Green — both drafted in the NBA’s 2021 first round — generally came at different times for the Houston Rockets.
Sengun flourished over the first few months of the 2023-24 season, even making an All-Star push at midseason. Then, with Sengun sidelined by an ankle injury for the final month-plus of the season, Green nearly earned March Player of the Month honors.
There were occasional games of overlap where both were in peak form at the same time, and it’s worth noting that Green had already shown several games of improved play prior to Sengun’s March 10 injury. Yet, for the season as a whole, it’s a fair observation to say that both prospects were rarely at their best, simultaneously.
So, as Houston turns its focus to 2024-25, is that a concern as the Rockets (41-41) try to go from a .500 season to a winning team that earns a spot in the 2025 Western Conference postseason?
General manager Rafael Stone and head coach Ime Udoka are aware of the concern, but it doesn’t sound like they’re particularly alarmed or troubled. At Tuesday’s end-of-season media availability session with Houston reporters, here’s how Stone responded to a question of whether Sengun and Green are a good complement to each other:
One’s a guard, one’s a center. One of the guys I’ve worked with a long time has a saying that “Someone has gotta score.” The more shots you get, the more you’ll score. In that sense, Jalen benefitted from getting additional shots.
He started playing really good basketball prior to Alperen’s injury. His scoring tailed off a little bit at the end, but he really played some really good games at the end of the season where he didn’t score particularly well.
It’s about putting yourself in position for success. He made some big steps midseason that set him up that way. Fundamentally, great players can play with great players, and they’re not positionally similar.
The challenge that exist for us is not Jalen and Alperen. It’s Jalen, Alperen, Amen [Thompson], Tari [Eason], Jabari [Smith Jr.], Fred [VanVleet], Dillon [Brooks], and Cam [Whitmore]. We’re a team. Ime has to find a way to mesh everyone, but a lot of that is on them and the choices they make.
Every team, every year faces that challenge. Every year someone comes back and added to their game… and [the question is] how do you incorporate that. Or, they want to do more, and how do you incorporate that?
That’s the challenge in front of us. It’s a great one to have these talented young guys who are getting better and having more potential, but we’re cognizant it is a challenge.
Udoka then added his own perspective regarding Sengun and Green, who finished as Houston’s top-two scorers in average points per game during the 2023-24 season. Among his comments:
Jalen had more opportunity with Alperen out. They have contrasting styles. Early on, we leaned on Fred to get us into sets, initiate everything and get our turnovers down. Alpi being one of the top low post scorers, Jalen wasn’t gonna have the same opportunity as in the past.
Sometimes it comes down to making shots. With the ball in his hands, he goes on a hot streak. He was playing well before Alperen went down.
We’re looking forward to that combo meshing next year with more experience and understanding what we’re looking for from both of them.
It’s funny, they said the same thing about [Jayson] Tatum and [Jaylen] Brown. “Can they mesh together?” A lot of times, it’s the guys that every team would want. Everyone would want Jalen and Alpi on their team. I think it’s a no brainer that it can work, and we’ll see it going forward.
Udoka, of course, coached Tatum and Brown with the 2021-22 Boston Celtics, who advanced to the 2022 NBA Finals.
Complete video of Tuesday’s press conference is available below.
This is not the Jayson vs. Jalen discourse we’re used to.
Who has a better case to make First Team All-NBA for the league’s 2023-24 regular season — the Boston Celtics‘ Jayson Tatum or New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson? In the national media, analysts seem split on which of these two superstar players ought to get the nod.
But there are plenty of good points raised by folks who have watched Boston closely this season, from JT’s defense to the odd tendency to punish him for having excellent teammates in a context that shouldn’t matter much. The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast, Jack Simone and Sam LaFrance, are one such cadre of experts on the Celtics, and they recently shared their thoughts on who should make First Team on a recent episode of their show.
Watch as Grant Hill gifts Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday their Team USA jerseys for this summer’s Olympics in Paris.
The Boston Celtics will have two representatives on Team USA’s men’s basketball team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris this August. Gold medalists Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday were both named to the team this week with another chance at international glory.
Tatum and Holiday will join a team with veteran experience and rising star power. The two Celtics will team up with Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, Bam Adebayo, Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis this summer.
To celebrate the occassion, managing director of Team USA’s men’s basketball team and former Olympian visited members of the squad to gift them their 2024 Paris Olympic jerseys. You can check out the moment thanks to Adriel Highlights on YouTube.
Jayson Tatum will represent the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games, USA Basketball officially revealed on Wednesday.
The United States officially revealed its 2024 men’s basketball team on Wednesday morning, and former Duke star Jayson Tatum grabbed one of the 12 spots.
The idea that Tatum would make the team was by no means groundbreaking, as reports began to circulate about his spot on the team more than a day before the roster reveal. However, the social media announcement from USA Basketball made the idea official.
Tatum, the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NBA draft, averaged 26.9 points this season, his fourth consecutive season averaging at least 26.0 points per game, and he added 8.1 rebounds and a career-high 4.9 assists.
The 26-year-old has been named an All-Star in each of the past five seasons. He earned his first All-NBA First Team designation in 2022, an honor he repeated last season and seems like a contender for again in 2024.
Tatum’s Celtics, the only team with 60 wins this regular season, clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the upcoming playoffs. At 64-18, no team in the conference came within 13 games of them.
Paris will be Tatum’s second Olympic Games after he helped the United States win gold in Tokyo during the 2020 Olympics.
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce recently discussed what it takes for a player to be classed as a superstar.
The term “superstar” is thrown around a lot in the NBA. However, in reality, there are very few players in the league who can fall under that category. Usually, there are four or five players at a time. The Boston Celtics have a player knocking on the door of superstardom. Jayson Tatum could enter that discussion if he leads the franchise to a championship this season.
Would one championship be enough, though? Or would Tatum need to add multiple rings to his resume to be considered a genuine superstar? During a recent episode of the “KG Certified” podcast, the former Celtics champion sits down with Paul Pierce to discuss what allows a player to transcend the star status.
Garnett has seen, faced, and even been described as a superstar throughout his career. Therefore, he has a good handle on what a player needs to enter that discussion.
You can watch the full episode by clicking on the embedded link above.
How many future Hall of Famers due the Boston Celtics have on their roster?
The Boston Celtics are enjoying what could become a historic season for the franchise. They sit first in the Eastern Conference with a 15-game cushion over the second-placed Milwaukee Bucks. They also have the best record in the NBA. Joe Mazzulla’s team is widely expected to contend for the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the season.
A significant part of Boston’s success this season has been the sheer level of talent on its roster. Its starting five could be an All-Star group. Al Horford coming off the bench is a luxury most teams could only dream of. As such, it’s no surprise that Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale has listed four members of Boston’s roster as future Hall of Famers.
“The issue with the Boston Celtics isn’t spotting Hall of Fame candidates,” Favale wrote. “It’s deciding on how many.”
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford are Favale’s selections. Depending on how successful the Celtics are in the coming years, we may need to add Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis to that list, too.
Right now, it doesn’t matter how many roster members could potentially make the Hall of Fame. The important thing is winning a championship and proving that the current roster is among the best in the history of the NBA. Boston has been building to this moment; now is the time to execute.
Tatum recently opened up about how the Celtics have maintained a steady level of success this year following failures in previous seasons.
All-NBA Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum recently opened up about how the Celtics have maintained a steady level of success this year following their failures in previous seasons, and why Celtics head Joe Mazzulla is a core part of it as we approach the end of the NBA’s 2024 regular season.
The St. Louis native and his teammates have burned their way to the storied franchise’s best record since 2008 (the last time they won a title) with plenty of games left to play. Just how good is this team, and what does Tatum’s perspective on the team have to do with it?
The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast, Jack Simone and Sam LaFrance, took a closer look at the interview and its implications for Boston’s postseason hopes on a recent episode. Check it out below!
Is this overblown, or do Tatum’s critics actually have a point about his teammate trust level?
Does star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum need to trust his teammates more than he seems to this season? The St. Louis native reverting back into harmful isolation play at the end of close games has fans of the ball club getting worried the season could end in similar, painful ways.
Is this overblown, or do Tatum’s critics actually have a point about his teammate trust level? Sam Packard, who hosts the “Still Poddable” podcast on the CLNS Media network and on Patreon, made his “Celtics Beat” podcast debut to talk about the Celtics struggles at the end of games.
The hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Beat” podcast, Adam Kaufman and Evan Valenti, also talked about why Boston needs to trust Derrick White more, and what Joe Mazzulla is doing to experiment with the last few remaining games with Packard. Check it out below!
The St. Louis native came in behind (in order) Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Two Boston Celtics players made an appearance in the final 2024 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award straw poll put together by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps for the 2023-24 regular season. Star forward Jaylen Brown received a single fifth-place vote to register tenth overall in the straw poll results after a strong finish to the Celtics’ current campaign.
The poll, which aims to project how MVP voters will cast their vote at the end of the season for the coveted full-season honor, also saw fellow Boston All-Star swingman Jayson Tatum come in fifth in the final installment of straw poll voting.
The St. Louis native came in behind (in order) Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In terms of the mix of places he was voted into overall, Tatum received 2 first place votes, 1 second, 1 third, 11 fourth, and 54 votes for fifth place.
