"Humbly," 24-year-old Jayson Tatum said two days ago, "I'm one of the best players in the world." He made the remarks after Game 6, in which he scored 16 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and gave the Boston Celtics' season more hope.
This kind of sentence could become a meme, a running joke, in an America where any sentence can easily get tattooed. Tatum decided he wouldn't be the punchline for that joke. Vice versa.
Tatum broke the record for points in a decisive Game 7 tonight with 51.
It's not every day that a record is broken at one of the most prestigious franchises in the world, as Tatum became the first player with more than 40 points, more than 10 rebounds and more than five threes in a playoff game. The statistics come from every direction and with them the praise.
Jayson Tatum. Broke all the stats, Photo: USA TODAY Sports
Behind rookie coach Joe Mazzola, the team was able to overcome the drama of coach Ime Yudoka's suspension and finish the season in second place in the East.
In terms of team building, they are the perfect contrast to the Philidelphia Sixers in the sense that it was not created as a tool experiment but that most of its players were selected directly from the draft and those who have not been with it for a respectable period. You could call the Celtics the antithesis of Super Team, a team cleverly built around Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Right now, the Celtics' road back to the Finals is almost paved and they will meet the surprising Miami Heat in the Western Conference Finals, in a replay of the COVID-19 bubble they lost to and for the third time in four years.
Already last season, the Celtics were able to show that they were built from the right material when they reached the NBA Finals. After eliminating MVP Joel Embiid (5-18 from the field, 0-4 from three), Tatum has every reason to feel on top of the world. He had already passed one big test, now all he had to do was finish the task.
The hottest sports articles and updates on your Telegram
Join
Joel Embiid. The MVP goes home, Photo: USA TODAY Sports
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us