Following an excruciating six-game series in which the Boston Celtics fell to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, Brad Stevens, the former prodigy head coach of the Celtics and current President of Basketball Operations, thought it was time for a mental reset.
Rather than getting back on the grind immediately, Stevens told Celtics star Jayson Tatum to take some time off from basketball.
“I just told him, ‘Go on vacation. Go get some rest.’ This guy gave us everything he had.”
Brad Stevens on his message to Jayson Tatum: “I just told him, ‘Go on vacation. Go get some rest.’ This guy gave us everything he had.”
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 21, 2022
Following a six-game slugfest with the eventual champion Warriors, it seems appropriate for the players to take some time off to reset. Tatum played 100 games this year which became apparent in the NBA Finals.
In six NBA Finals games, Tatum averaged 21.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 7.0 assists on 36.7 percent shooting from the field, 45.5 percent from three, and 65.6 percent from the free-throw line. Tatum also had historic turnover issues in the playoffs; the Duke alum coughed the ball up 100 times, the most ever in a single postseason run.
“This guy gave us everything he had,” Stevens said per CBS. “When you look at the minutes, the games played; I said it several times that he’s a superstar that doesn’t want to sit,” Stevens said of Tatum’s postseason output. “He wants to play all the time.”
Tatum and the Celtics will look to rebound next fall, and considering the youthful nature of this Boston team, expect them to be around for a good while longer.
