It has been a strange, challenging season for Celtics forward Jason Tatum – and putting it mildly.
The two-time All-Star had to bounce back quickly after a long stint in the NBA’s Florida bubble with elimination in the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals. Boston lost Gordon Hayward to Charlotte during the free-agency period, and placed more responsibility on Tatum’s shoulders. The Celtics have struggled with injuries (most notably Marcus Smart’s calf strain), inconsistent play, and COVID-19 issues.
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Tatum is one of several NBA players who have tested positive for COVID-19 this season and missed the game as part of the league’s health and safety protocol. He admitted that the results of his initial tests showed that he had been battling the effects for more than a month after contracting the virus.
“I think it messes with your breathing a little bit,” Tatum said in February. “I have experienced some sports where I don’t want to say [I was] Struggling to breathe, but, you know, you get tired much quicker than normal. Just walking up and down the court for some time, it is easy to get out of breath or tired too fast.
“I’ve seen that since I’ve done COVID. It’s just something I’m working on.”
And yet, despite all the difficulties, Tatum is still arguably making his best year as a supporter. Entering Tuesday night’s game against the Jazz, Tatum averaged a career-high 25.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.5 per game, while shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from 3-point range. While Boston has not lived up to expectations, it is far ahead in the East Playoff race.
So what can we expect from Tatum and his teammates in the second part of the 2020-21 campaign? Sporting News spoke with the 23-year-old on Monday about the Celtics’ situation and more.
(Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.)
sports news: Before we do anything about the Celtics, I know that you talked openly about the effects of COVID-19 last month and feeling tired on the floor. what do you feel now? Are you still feeling those physical effects?
Jason Tatum: I think there is definitely improvement there. Everyone else I’ve talked to has experienced what I’m doing, they said it’s kind of a process, and it takes a while to fully recover from a conditioning standpoint where it’s really I am not affecting your breathing. When you are playing It is getting better. I think you can ask everyone.
SN: Have you talked to other people in the league who have dealt with similar issues? Do you think NBA players get a sense of how others in your own small basketball community are doing?
JT: Yes, I have talked to people who are in the NBA, and I have talked to people from other leagues. Just talk about what they had to do, how they got well, how they later felt they were playing in their respective games. I interacted with a few different people.
SN: Where we are heading into the second half of the season, how do you feel about this team and roster as you have currently built? And moving forward, what do you think you have to do to be considered among that elite championship tier?
JT: I think, now that everyone is healthy, obviously we feel like a different team. We are playing like a different team. Just getting everyone back together is a big part of it. With roster status, this is not really for me to say. My job and everyone else’s work is in that locker room, go there and show the best of your abilities, help win the game. Those decisions are upon us. It seems to me that each person brings something different to every table that we need. Therefore, I like our team. We have been playing better as of late, and hopefully we will continue to improve on that.
SN: What do you think is the factor that will allow the Celtics to win at a consistent level and take that momentum into the playoffs?
JT: I think that should be more consistent in just one game, whether we have leadership, which to maintain or – you will not be perfect during a game. But it’s not just getting beat on the things we go through practice, on the things that we watch in the movie or on that stuff while being safe, walking in a walkthrough. Apparently, this is the NBA. Guys are going to make plays and hit a few shots, but it is not making it easy for them. Try to take the stuff away. It’s just detailed things we can do better.
SN: One of the biggest things for your team was the recent return of Marcus Smart and what he brings to both ends of the floor. Not that you don’t know when he wasn’t able to play there would be some kind of impact, but how much lift does he provide?
JT: Obviously, smart is really, really, really good and a very important part of our team. We are sure, he remembers his appearance and all the intangible things he does on a nightly basis that may not necessarily show on the stat sheet.
SN: Robert Williams is playing well. He had a season-high 16 points in a win over the Rockets. How did you see him progressing as a young player and filling that role as a vertical threat and a defender? Coming into the league, I think everyone knew that he had the equipment, but he is putting it together.
JT: I like rob He works very hard. He is much better where he is an important part of our team. We need him to succeed, and he knows that. He has taken on the responsibility, and it shows. Rob is going to be special. I truly believe so.
SN: Is there some part of his game or something that he has done that is really out of you? Something that he did on a game-to-game basis?
JT: I think her talk, she is talking on the floor, which people do not recognize. But being on the floor with him, just listening to his voice and especially his presence on the defensive end, I think it has gotten a lot better than his first year in the league.
SN: Is there something that just takes time – generally speaking, not even specific for Rob – to be able to find his voice in the league and grow comfortable to address his teammates?
JT: Yes, especially depending on your personality, you can be comfortable with yourself and comfortable with your peers. From man to man, that changes, how long it takes. But he understood.
SN: I know that the internet joke about you is always 19 years old, but you too have developed as an all-star and reached a high level in your career. How much have you accomplished – in the conference finals, a top role in the team – how have you improved as a leader?
JT: Even at a young age, I feel that my basketball experience thus gives me the credibility of being a leader and earning the respect of your teammates in that aspect, in the league and the kind of work I have done.
SN: Before I let you go here. I know your Blue Devils are out, but do you have a March Madness Championship for this year?
JT: I mean, if we’re not into it – I’m gonna see it, but it’ll be hard for me to choose someone else.
SN: So you are on Then same page as Zion WilliamsonThe He said that if the Duke is not there, I am not interested.
JT: Oh yes. I feel him.
Tatum spoke with Sporting News as part of a promotional interview on behalf of Subway. Basketball fans can create their own sandwich with Tatum and Warriors star Drummond Green and share it on social media with #MySubwaySub. (You may have heard that there is bacon in Tatum’s sub.)
“It was just something that’s very real to itself,” Tatum said. “I’ve been eating Subway ever since I was a kid. I’ve grown up eating Subway. So when the opportunity came, it was a no brain. I think that’s the best part of me, making something and People are enjoying it. “
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