Boston Celtics: 3 bold statements team lived to regret in 2019
Jayson Tatum’s championship guarantee
While Kyrie Irving was in the center of the NBA media stratosphere during NBA All-Star weekend, Boston Celtics second-year man Jayson Tatum managed to steal some of the spotlight with a guarantee faded in early May.
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Perhaps Tatum was feeling it after he guaranteed he’d win the Skills Challenge which he won. Perhaps it was his 30-point performance in the Rising Stars game or maybe it was just a young player who recognized the heights his team was capable of.
Whatever it was, when ESPN’s Rachel Nichols asked Jayson Tatum whether he had another guarantee he’d like to make, he said:
"“We’re going to win the Finals this year. February 16th, mark it. Jayson Tatum says we’re going to win the Finals this year.”"
Through the first five games of the playoffs, it seemed like Tatum’s guarantee would have some merit, but the Celtics faded fast after thumping the No. 1 see Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Furthermore, Jayson Tatum struggled in that series making the shooting woes of Kyrie Irving even more drastic. Not to say the second-year rising star jinxed the Boston Celtics championship hopes, but his play on the court didn’t backup the guarantee, neither did his team.