- Celtics star opens up on the Celtics’ failed playoff run in 2023
- Jayson Tatum admits his team is “far from perfect”
- Tatum says the Celtics are “due” for playoff success
Following their latest failed playoff run, Jayson Tatum spoke out publicly to rally faith behind the new-look Celtics. The Celtics, who finished second in the regular season, had people convinced they’d win the title before their 2023 playoff defeat against Jimmy Butler and Miami Heat in 7 games. Now, with support at an all-time low, Tatum is doing his best to change the narrative.
“We’re far from perfect. We won’t ever get the credit we deserve until we actually win a championship,” Jayson told The Messenger Sports. “That is the ultimate goal, but you can’t bypass all the things we’ve accomplished in the six years we’ve been teammates at a very young age. We’ve been to the playoffs every single year, we’ve gotten better.”
Tatum and Brown have been together for years now, and they’ve made several deep playoff runs already. The best of them came in 2022 when they came to within two wins of beating the Warriors and winning the championship.
Even so, there have been doubts that Tatum and his co-star, Jaylen Brown, are the right guys to lead this group. But after Brown signed a $304 million contract extension this summer, he and Tatum will have more time to figure each other out.
“Yes, it took some time to figure out how we can be as special as we can be, and how we can co-exist and do it together,” said Tatum. “I know everybody says, ‘They take turns.’ I feel like we got to a place where we were feeding off each other, playing really well. We are due to get over the hump. And it will be well worth it when we do.”
Jayson Tatum Is A Rising Superstar
If there’s any reason to believe in the 2023 Boston Celtics, it’s Jayson Tatum himself. After averaging a career-high 30.1 points per game last season, he seems ready to take the leap and join the ranks of the elites like Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic. After leading the Cs to a historically hot start, he was even able to finish within the top three for MVP voting.
The key to Tatum’s rise will be improving as a defender, which is one area of his game that needs the most improvement. If he can find a way to make a bigger impact on that end of the floor, it could be all he needs to take a serious leap on the hierarchy.
2023-24 Boston Celtics Are Among Favorites To Win The East
The Celtics were one of the few teams who made some major changes this offseason. Under Ime Udoka, they were more defensive-minded with Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III playing major roles in the rotation.
With Joe Mazzulla in charge now, the Celtics have gone in an entirely new direction. Favoring offense, the team traded Smart for big man sharpshooter Kristaps Porzingis. They also parted ways with Grant Williams, who was sent to the Mavericks in a sign-and-trade.
This upcoming season, the jury is still out on where this Celtics group ranks in the Eastern Conference but it’s hard to see them falling off too much with Tatum and Brown healthy. With expectations already sky-high for Boston, don’t be surprised if they are the last team standing when it’s all said and done.
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