Jayson Tatum is tired of talking about the 2022 NBA Finals.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday night, he said the loss on basketball’s biggest stage made for a tough summer.
“’Cause everywhere I went, you know, somebody mentioned, ‘Good job in the Finals, next year, you guys did well,’” he said. “And it’s like, you know, they meant it in a good way, but, it’s just a reminder that you lost. You got to the top and you didn’t get over that hump.”
It may take a while for Tatum and his teammates to find closure to the Golden State Warriors hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy on the parquet at TD Garden this past June, but Tuesday night’s 126-117 win over the Philadelphia 76ers may have provided some much-needed catharsis for a team looking to repeat the long road to that final championship.
The season opening game for both the Celtics and the NBA came on a big night in Boston, one of two this year in which the team will pay special homage to the legendary Bill Russell, who died in July. Along with a video tribute and pre-game performances by Boston poet laureate Porsha Olayiwola and singer Aloe Blacc, the team wore new jerseys designed to honor Russell’s legacy.
Before tip-off tonight the @celtics honored Bill Russell with a poem titled "SESTINA" written and performed by Porsha Olayiwola 💚 pic.twitter.com/xAn4DuQx0j
— NBA (@NBA) October 18, 2022
Jaylen Brown, who finished the night with 35 points, addressed the crowd before the game, calling Russell a “great man.”
Afterward, Brown said it was a special night:
“It was amazing to be able to play in his honor,” he said. “Bill Russell was a legend. He was much taller than he was in person, just because what he stood for, what he represented. So may he rest in peace.”
It was also a big night for interim head coach Joe Mazzulla, who took the reigns of the team after coach Ime Udoka was suspended by the Celtics for a season following allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a member of the organization. Although the seismic news came just days before the team was set to start training camp, Mazzulla has been seen as a calm figure throughout.
That same cool came through in the post-game presser where Mazzulla, who had just been drenched in a celebratory water bottle shower by his players, noted how special it was to get his first win as a head coach in front of the Boston crowd.
“And so I pride myself in the Boston fans and the city of Boston, and when they’re cheering for you, it means you're doing something right,” he said.
The Celtics looked good, but far from perfect, in their win over Philly, moving well in transition, getting over some early shooting struggles and making some mid-season form passes. The fact that they did all of that while fending off Philly’s James Harden and Joel Embiid is enough to get reactionaries buying way too much stock in a team that’s played all of one game.
But for Tatum, who ended the night with a crisp 35 point, 12 rebound double-double, there’s no need to rush.
“It’s just one game, right? If we won by 20 or lost by 20, it counts as one, as Brad Stevens would say,” he said after the game. “…But, you know a win is a win. And, you know, starting off on the right track, we’ll take it."
