What is Tatum’s best revenge against Steve Kerr, Warriors?

What is Tatum’s best revenge against Steve Kerr, Warriors? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The much-ballyhooed Jayson Tatum revenge opportunity is finally here.

We don’t need to tell you the backstory, right? Tatum was having a pretty rad summer. The NBA title. The gold medal. The richest contract extension in NBA history. The 2K cover. About the only thing that didn’t go exactly to plan was his playing time with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

For that reason, Steve Kerr unseated Kyrie Irving as Villain No. 1 in Boston.

It’s probably not the biggest slight to have your playing time curtailed on a 12-player, six-game summer exhibition featuring a slew of Hall of Fame-bound teammates. Alas, the great ones find motivation in even the tiniest slights.

Which is why Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla cackled with delight at Tatum’s sliver of misfortune. While everyone around Tatum tried to talk him up, accentuate all the positives, and offer their own exasperation about his Team USA playing time, Mazzulla celebrated it. And he asked Tatum one question:

“How are you going to respond?”

Tonight, at what should be a rather delirious TD Garden, we’ll get our answer.

🔊 Celtics Talk: How will Jayson Tatum respond when Steve Kerr and Warriors visit the Garden? | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

Maybe Tatum will give Boston fans what they want: some sort of monster scoring explosion replete with icy glares in the direction of the Golden State bench. Kerr has already braced himself for the loud boos he’ll undoubtedly hear during pregame introductions, and we’re ready for the occasional, “USA! USA! USA!” chants after any Tatum bucket.

But, in our mind, the best revenge would simply be Tatum not getting wrapped up in the emotions of the game. It would be Tatum taking any additional attention the Warriors might send his way in hopes of extinguishing a loud game, and turning it into easy buckets for his teammates.

Tatum doesn’t need to prove anything to anybody. That shiny gold Larry O’Brien Trophy lifted a weight from those broad shoulders. And Tatum admits he has far loftier goals for his legacy…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/tatums-best-revenge-against-steve-161339610.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-11-06 16:13:00

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