The finals are just the beginning for Jayson Tatum

Since the beginning of his career, he has reached the Eastern Conference finals twice, in 2018 and 2020. The Celtics. But he never reached the highest stage of the NBA season, the Finals.

So, of course, for Jason TatumThe disappointment was as great as the excitement of playing for the first time in his career at this stage of the season, when Stephen Curry and his team won their fourth title in eight seasons after the sixth and final round in this great series. .

The days that followed were tough for the young Boston star who struggled in the Finals (21.5 on 37% shooting, 26.9 on 45% during the regular season), physically and emotionally drained after that. Failure until the Holy Grail.

” In terms of talent, we were on the same level. But you could see that they have experience competing at this level. We could see they were in control without ever panicking. Morally, they were stronger, and that’s the hardest part to accept The 24-year-old triple All-Star explained. ” Deuce (son) hugged me and told me he was proud of me. Both my mother and I started crying. I felt like I let everyone down. I was telling them how tired I was and feeling down. »

The lessons of his Finals failure, the driving forces behind his “MVPesque” season

So, “JT” returned to work after the “mourning” of this lost Finals. The goal: let this failure, which he considers personal due to a somewhat disappointing level of play during the series, be a bearer of lessons. And let these lessons lead to progress.

Especially according to the Missouri native: the last two games of the series, when he missed “money time” in Game 5, before missing Game 6 even more (13 points on 6/18 shooting) .

” I was tired. Spiritual, physical. I put a lot of pressure on my shoulders “He adds, referring to the two” airballs in the fourth quarter of Game 5. And I thought I was rested enough for Game 6, but I messed up. I had no legs, my breathing was heavy. »

Before thinking about the area, her kitchen needed a makeover first. Like many of his colleagues in the league, Jayson Tatum hired a personal chef.

” It was about keeping the same options but making them healthier. Especially the proportions adjusted to the weight I want to maintain for playing he continued. ” I haven’t been vegan, but if I eat breakfast, eggs are organic, bacon is better, orange juice is natural. All these little things will ultimately make a difference over the course of the season. »

Then came the main course: changes on the pitch. Or rather improvements. While the personal trainer of many NBA stars (Bradley Beal and Joel Embiid and others) reunited with his longtime partner Drew Hanlen several times to work According to Drew Hanle’s observations, Jayson Tatum hasn’t changed his game significantly over the summer.

” We noticed that he did not attack the circle from wrong angles ” noted Drew Hanlen, whose record has been backed up by numbers since Jayson Tatum finished the Finals with a 34% racquet success rate, the lowest average for a player at this stage of the season in the last 25 years. ” He attacked not in the direction of the circle, but in the direction of the counters on the opposite side. Then we defined three stages. The first was his posture, his hips had to be lower so he had better balance. The second was the angle of attack, he had to get inside the defender, not go around him. And finally, the third stage was to ensure that he took advantage of his physical qualities. For this I have made him a lot of sin to prepare for it. »

Eyes (still) on the prize

One thing’s for sure, though: Nearly six months after the Finals debacle and the tears of exhaustion and frustration that followed, Jayson Tatum is stronger than ever. This new version, formed over the summer, takes him to the top of the league after a quarter of the season. With 30.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, the former Dukie MVP is one of the favorites.

Despite five straight playoff berths and three All-Star game selections at just 24 years old, the mark of a player just starting to rise to the top.

” my mentality [après les Finals] changed. I now know the feeling of being there and the way to get there he says about it. ” I am no longer trying to prove that I am on the same level as so-and-so football player, I am better. Last year, when [en playoffs] It was me against KD [Kevin Durant]or me vs. Jimmy Butler or Giannis vs [Antetokounmpo], I wanted to show that I am of the same caste as them. This year I am happy with myself. I know who I am, I know my worth. I know how hard I worked this summer and I won’t be satisfied until we get back. [aux Finals]and this time he will win. »