Jayson Tatum's desire to make a jump for Celtics is truly 'Fierce'

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/jayson-tatums-desire-jump-celtics-140054378.html



Jayson Tatum's desire to make a jump for Celtics is truly 'Fierce'



Chris Forsberg, NBC Sports Boston

4 hours ago



Forget the Kemba recruitment or the Team USA excitement, there was something Jayson Tatum told reporters Thursday while promoting his new Abercrombie & Fitch cologne that was truly, "Fierce."

"I'm really looking to take a bigger jump," said Tatum. "Be more vocal, be more of a leader. Just be a better version of myself."

Tatum essentially acknowledged that he didn't make the strides he could have in Year 2, that he failed to assert himself amid the jumbled mess that was last year's Celtics season. Both in what he's said this summer and what he's worked on in his offseason workouts, Tatum appears to have recognized that he needs to alter his approach in order to tap into his obvious potential.

Which is important for the Celtics. They need Tatum to be the best version of himself if they desire any chance of being a legitimate contender now and moving forward.

There is a fallacy that Tatum had a lackluster season last year. The truth is that he simply didn't make the sort of leap that most expected in his sophomore campaign. His advanced stats were still among the best on the team.

Among Celtics players with at least 1,000 minutes played, Tatum topped the team in on-court net rating at plus-6.9 points per 100 possessions. That was better than both Kyrie Irving (plus-6.2) and Al Horford (plus-6.1). What's more, Tatum had lowest off-court net rating on the team (plus-1.0), meaning the Celtics were a team-best plus-5.9 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor.

But it's undeniable that Tatum didn't quite tap into his full potential. He never asserted himself the way the team desperately needed and he didn't play with the swagger and confidence of someone with the potential to be one of the league's elite.

Expectations for Tatum were simply irrational from the the moment he dunked on LeBron James in Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals. In the season's postmortem, a lot of us (this reporter is guilty) proclaimed that Tatum might someday soon emerge as a top-10 talent.

He still might. But in order to do so he had to grow. And everything he's said and done this summer suggests he's trying.

Tatum has taken a lot of ribbing from his teammates and NBA brethren about his new fragrance but it's just the latest indication that Tatum is on the precipice of a full-fledged dive into NBA stardom. Last season, he ranked in the top 15 for jersey sales, mingling with the who's who of All-Star talent.

But Tatum didn't always play with a killer instinct. Still only 21, he didn't have the vocal presence on a team that probably needed a bit more leadership. The "young guys" were often labeled the problem. Now Tatum wants to be the solution.

Tatum is often quiet in media sessions and doesn't always say a lot. But his quotes from the Abercrombie event hint at a player that's growing more comfortable. He took a bit of the credit for steering Kemba to Boston and expressed a desire for this year's Celtics squad to start building chemistry.

Tatum's declaration made me think back to something Brad Stevens said near the end of last season. During the playoff series against Milwaukee, Stevens marveled at the way both Tatum and Jaylen Brown handled the expectations that have been heaped upon them. Stevens encouraged reporters to look at how Tatum's play in his age-20 season compared to other stars at that age.

Tatum didn't make the progress most expected in the aftermath of the 2018 playoffs. The environment certainly didn't help his cause. The 2019-20 Celtics season offers a clean slate and a chance be that better version of himself.

The Abercrombie fragrance wasn't Tatum's only promotional addition this summer. He also signed on with Michael Jordan's "Jumpman" brand. It's yet another sign of his growing celebrity and how his potential is viewed.

And how appropriate, too, for someone that's clearly eager to make a jump.



bob
MY NOTE:  We thought/hoped we'd get OG last season, but underestimated the amount of time it would take for Hayward to go from "eligible to play through contact" and "back".  We also thought/hoped that Jayson Tatum would take a big step up.  He didn't, but that was a dysfunctional team.  I don't know how anybody could have taken a "big step up" offensively as long as Kyrie was on the floor.  This isn't a dump on Kyrie, as I have stated and is generally agreed upon, our players just stood around and watched him.  That could happen this year with Kemba too, but I think our players are better mentally prepared for that if it happens.  Been there, done that, got the earlier playoff exit as a souvenir.

Hayward should be clearly and consistently better, or he is never making it all the way back.  I can't say he'll be a full-blown All-Star this year, but he better be pretty darn good or his injury is of a more permanent one that we thought OR Danny's roster and/or Brad's system isn't right for him.  And if Tatum also needed another year to ripen/mature/grow, then he got it.  We could be very tough because we have scorers up the yin-yang.  Using perhaps antiquated position identification we have scoring depth at point guard (Walker, Edwards), scoring depth at SG (Jaylen, Langford), scoring depth at SF (Hayward, Brown, Tatum) and scoring depth, albeit less, at PF (Tatum, Theis).  I am interested, and a bit concerned, about how Brad will play our centers.  Will he go with the more defensively-challenged Kanter for 30mpg or will he play more defensively-oriented centers (e.g. Poirier?  Williams) more minutes?  Our wings aren't a problem, on offense nor on defense.  Defense at center might be IF Kanter doesn't embrace Brad's defensive expectations.


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