Those damn Warriors. After all these years, they still know how to push the Celtics’ buttons.
They’re a far cry from the Splash Brothers of yesteryear, but 2024 Warriors improved to 7-1 after beating the World Champs in the annoying sort of fashion only they can manage.
The stage was set Wednesday night at TD Garden for Jayson Tatum to exact revenge against Steve Kerr, who benched the Boston star during the 2024 Olympics.
“I didn’t enjoy not playing Jayson,” Kerr said pregame, when asked about Tatum’s Olympic DNPs. “Those are not fun decisions.”
Kerr is still playing the “If only there was a way we could have found minutes for an All-NBA player” card, and that’s annoying. Fans wanted a story of redemption; they wanted to watch their beloved superstar show Kerr what he missed by sticking him on the pine in Paris. They wanted the NBA version of Princess Diana’s 1994 revenge dress.
What fans got was a Tatum performance that never really got going until the third quarter.
It's possible the Olympics drama is fully in Tatum's rearview mirror, even if it isn't for fans. Once he heated up, he was sensational – especially during a 20-second span in which he drained back-to-back 3-pointers like Number 30 on the other side. But the Celtics still got outclassed by their West Coast big brother and fell 118-112.
"It wasn't on my mind, just another Wednesday," Tatum said about the Olympics after the loss.
Tatum considered others' opinions about the situation but said he's grown comfortable in his own skin.
"I appreciate when it comes from a good place. But I'm always going to react, respond and approach things the way I want to."
Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis’ absences from the court should count as major asterisks when noting the loss, but the Celtics still had the game in hand until late in the fourth quarter. While Tatum struggled with Andrew Wiggins’ defense and constant traps in the first half, Derrick White and former two-way player Neemias Queta buoyed the team. White was flat out brilliant to start. He outshot the entire Golden State team 12-3 in the game’s early minutes, then surged again after halftime.
The game could have been framed as one in which Tatum beat an old foe without the two strongest members of his supporting cast. As so often happens in big sports moments, reality didn’t match that narrative. Tatum put up 32 points, had a 17-point third quarter, and he still came out the loser against Kerr and Steph Curry. Donald Trump is the President-elect again and the Celtics are still doing this? Are we all perpetually trapped in a 2016 time loop?
Big picture: it’s hard to imagine this game meaning much to a Boston team trying to repeat in June. Again, they were down two of their star players. Golden State aren’t the world beaters they used to be, but the came into the night with the second-best defensive rating in the NBA. They only trail the real threat out west: the Oklahoma City Thunder. So they didn’t lose to a team likely to meet them in the Finals, but they lost to a team that plays damn good defense.
So, the spot was a missed chance for Tatum and his team. It’s a disappointment. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and these teams won’t meet again until January.