BOSTON — Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr for no matter purpose determined to not make Jayson Tatum an integral a part of Group USA’s Olympic run this summer time.
However Kerr doesn’t must be satisfied about Tatum’s rise into one of many NBA’s elite gamers.
“We performed Boston about 5 years in the past. He had 55 factors towards us,” Kerr mentioned following Golden State’s 118-112 win over the Celtics at TD Backyard on Wednesday evening. “I don’t want to listen to about him taking a step. He’s been an incredible participant for a very long time.”
Kerr was just a little bit off — one thing Celtics followers certainly mentioned when he benched Tatum twice over six video games within the Olympics. The sport he referenced got here in 2021 when Tatum poured in 44 factors towards the Warriors.
Tatum didn’t have the identical kind of offensive explosion towards the Warriors on Wednesday and he couldn’t carry Boston to a win, however his efficiency was nonetheless no less than robust sufficient to make Kerr ponder his resolution from three months in the past.
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Tatum poured in a game-high 32 factors on 10-of-20 capturing, together with hitting 5-of-10 3-pointers. He was important to Boston’s 41-point third quarter, scoring 17 factors within the body and knocking 4 treys.
Kerr confirmed his respect for Tatum by the best way the Warriors guarded the five-time All-Star. They blitzed Tatum on excessive pick-and-rolls each likelihood they bought, particularly within the first half when the Warriors restricted him to only eight factors on 2-for-7 capturing.
And that defensive gameplan actually was Kerr complimenting the Celtics star and ensuring Tatum didn’t single-handedly beat the Warriors.
“He can rating in any respect three ranges,” Kerr mentioned. “The thought is don’t give him something straightforward. So hopefully you don’t foul him. Hopefully you’ll be able to meet him earlier than he will get to the rim and also you strive to remove the three, however he has that step again and he’s so huge that he can shoot proper excessive of the protection. Like all nice gamers, you simply have to stick with it and never get discouraged when he makes a pair.”
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