Jayson Tatum has found a valuable mentor in Paul Pierce. The two have spent extensive hours in the gym together, including a notable three-week period over the offseason in Los Angeles, where they trained alongside Tatum’s skills coach, Drew Hanlen, his trainer, Nick Sang, and assistant coach Sam Cassell. Pierce was also present at Celtics’ training camp in October.
“To watch him and see him do the things that’s making him great, it’s an honor,” Pierce said in September. “I’m there, really, just for support and to see his growth. He’s already at the top of the food chain, so I’m just part of being a support system.”
With the playoffs looming, Tatum has another opportunity to etch his name in Celtics lore alongside Pierce. Tatum has undoubtedly solidified his position as a top player, yet there is one notable omission on his resume — a championship.
The 26-year-old is over the learning process of his development. His four appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals and trip to the NBA Finals in 2022 provided that.
Boston’s loss to the Miami Heat in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals was the final straw for Wyc Grousbeck, Brad Stevens, and the Celtics’ front office. It also appears to be Tatum’s turning point – he’s tired of falling short.
“I saw somebody that was motivated. Super motivated,” Pierce said on the workouts with Tatum on a recent episode of The Truth Lounge. “I [saw] in his workouts what he was lifting, and his consistency in his work that he knows he left something on the table last year. You can see it this year – he’s playing with a lot more – going into your body, and-ones, getting to the rim. He’s playing with a little bit more aggression right now.”
The numbers back that up. Tatum mentioned back in October that he put on 12 pounds over the offseason, and he has put that size to use.
Tatum is posting up 10.1% of the time, a significant jump from his 5.1% a season ago. The 6-foot-8 wing is scoring on 58.2% of those post-ups, a better percentage than Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, among other All-Star bigs.
Additionally, according to Cleaning The Glass, he is shooting 71% at the rim (shots within four feet of the basket), a career-high.
Although Tatum’s game has improved noticeably, Pierce believes the five-time All-Star's most significant improvement may not necessarily be as apparent.
“It ain’t nothing about his game. His game is gonna be his game. It’s your mental, and once I changed my mental, I took this next step in my game,” said Pierce. “He might have like 18 points because it’s Porzingis night, because it’s J-Brown night. He ain’t worried about [it] – It looked like last year, he was going to get 30 no matter what. Now, it looks like – OK, it’s their night, so I’m gonna sacrifice a little more. That’s what it’s looking like, and for you to win a championship, that’s what you gotta do.”
“It’s a sacrifice you gotta make to win it, and I’m seeing it in him. Not only him, in all of them.”
Sacrifice has been the pillar of Boston’s success this season. It’s a principle that’s easier said than done, considering box score metrics are often the headline.
Factor in the remarkable success among the Celtics’ top six — Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Al Horford — who have combined for 16 All-Star appearances, five All-NBA selections, and seven All-Defensive honors —and things get even more complicated.
Each player has taken on a slightly smaller role, and the system’s success hinges on the total commitment of the entire roster, a point Tatum emphasized from the beginning.
Following the Celtics’ acquisition of Holiday on the eve of training camp, Tatum organized a players-only meeting with Boston’s top six to discuss the sacrifices needed to pursue a championship.
“I wanted us to get in the room and talk about it,” Tatum told ESPN. “We all are human and have feelings, and I opened the floor and basically said, ‘There’s six of us. Only five can play at one time. One of us is not going to finish the game all the time.
“Whether it’s fair or not, me and JB are probably going to always start, and always finish the game. But we have to be held to a different standard and be able to be coached differently. Whether it’s KP and Al, one of you guys may not finish a game, and you have to be OK with that.”
As noted by Pierce, it appears Tatum has taken that step regarding his mental, which will pay dividends down the stretch for the Celtics. Success starts with great leaders, and though relatively unnoticed, that’s one of the areas in which we’ve seen the most growth from Tatum.
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