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00:05 Hey, Bobby Manning here.
00:08 Welcome to the Garden Report here in Brooklyn.
00:10 Brooklyn.
00:11 A great game tonight.
00:13 124-114 Celtics sustained various net runs throughout the game.
00:19 Led by Jason Tatum with a 32 point performance that helped him reach the 10,000 point mark
00:25 in his career with Joe Sway.
00:26 We were there talking to him about post game.
00:30 25 years old.
00:31 Crazy man.
00:32 It meant a lot to him, didn't it?
00:33 Yes.
00:34 Yeah, it meant the world to him, Bobby.
00:35 You know, especially this happening here at the Barclays Center.
00:38 The building where he was drafted.
00:39 And he opened up a little bit, right?
00:41 He talked about how he wasn't quite sure if he was going to be a focal point on the offense.
00:45 I mean, you have to remember at the time, Isaiah Thomas was still on the team.
00:48 Later on, you know, Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward.
00:50 He mentioned that.
00:51 And I thought that was pretty cool, pretty humble of him to say, especially when he's
00:54 described himself as arrogant, you know, an arrogant young player who thought, you know,
00:59 he had it all figured out.
01:01 Thought that, you know, what being a great basketball player was going to happen overnight,
01:05 so to speak.
01:06 I mean, he didn't use those words, but it sort of felt like he wasn't quite sure that
01:10 he would emerge as the leader of this Celtics team, which obviously we're not surprised
01:14 at this point.
01:15 I mean, what was it?
01:16 Six years removed now from draft night here at Barclays Center to do what he did out here.
01:20 He says going into the game, he knew he needed 16 points to reach 10,000 career points, but
01:25 didn't know he would be in doing that, that he'd be the youngest Celtic of all time.
01:29 So that was a very, very special moment for him.
01:31 Good game for him too.
01:32 Gets off the ball, some early turnovers.
01:34 The Nets threw multiple defenders at him, especially late.
01:38 And in the fourth quarter, he was able to get the ball to Drew Holliday in the middle
01:42 of the floor and helped him get 10 assists, even though Tatum ended with one himself.
01:47 Went to the power game when he needed to, hit a ton of threes here.
01:51 The shot was on and it has been early this season, which has led to more consistency
01:55 from him.
01:56 And you know, five games in, we're going to start talking about MVP as we did on the show.
02:00 Hey, we got the chance, especially on the road.
02:02 You know, you know that conversation is always going to pop up.
02:04 But it might be relevant if he's going to shoot consistently this year.
02:08 He's going to make an impact defensively and on the boards.
02:11 And if this team is the best team in the league as they are so far, he'll be right in that
02:17 mix.
02:18 Yeah, no, for sure.
02:19 I mean, this is the, this is the beginning stages.
02:21 If you ask me, if you look at, you know, prior MVP season, it's sort of how it starts, right?
02:25 A team that gets up to a quick start, you know, is able to sustain that high level of
02:31 play.
02:32 And I think Tatum has done that.
02:33 And especially in the sense of being a playmaker, like you just mentioned, something that Joe
02:35 Mazzullo talked about, you know, knowing what it feels like to be on the other side of getting
02:40 those assists and how important it is for a team that's going to do the same thing for
02:44 you.
02:45 So I think that's another part of Tatum's game that's evolved for sure as a playmaker,
02:48 as a leader.
02:50 And Joe Mazzullo had nothing but great things to say in the sense of how he's able to fulfill
02:53 that role at a level that, you know, not a lot of NBA players are always willing to do
02:59 in terms of being coached and wanting to be coached and wanting to be held accountable.
03:04 And obviously, you know, as a leader, Tatum has been doing the same with his teammates.
03:08 And I just see him play at the highest level of his career, if you ask me.
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03:29 No Derek White tonight, too.
03:30 Added all the more pressure.
03:31 The Nets brought it to them.
03:35 Went into the half court, a ton of three-point attempts.
03:38 And the Celtics did have some stretches in this game where they lost leads, where they
03:42 faced some legitimate adversity, which we haven't seen a ton of from them, especially
03:47 over the last two games where they were up 30 in each of them.
03:50 So he responded, they responded.
03:53 And the biggest thing, too, that Joe said I thought was relevant after the game was
03:58 they're finding joy, they're buying into setting each other up.
04:02 And I think Tatum's embodying that by giving the ball up.
04:05 And as we've said for years, if he gives it up, he's going to get it back often.
04:09 And he did tonight with another 30-point game.
04:12 Right.
04:13 And when you surround him with talent like this, it's easy when you look at where he's
04:17 at in the stage of his career.
04:19 And obviously, entering his prime years, he's just playing at an elite level.
04:24 And you've got guys like Drew Holiday, who if you ask me, especially in this one, another
04:28 stellar performance.
04:29 He was awesome.
04:30 And this guy's like a chameleon, man, or a Swiss Army knife.
04:33 Whichever metaphor you want to use, it applies.
04:36 Plays well with Tatum, too.
04:37 Plays well with Tatum, and he just does a little bit of everything.
04:39 You want some playmaking, he's got you.
04:40 He's got those pull-up three-point shots that I think is always going to be there for him
04:44 in the sense of defenses trying to guard him.
04:47 Big defensive plays in this game.
04:49 Big defensive plays.
04:50 He's the same guy setting the screens.
04:51 He's the same guy who, if he gets caught on the switch down low, he can still make a stop
04:55 for you.
04:56 And it's just so relative when you look at someone like Tatum, who's, again, entering
05:00 the prime years of his career, playing at such a high level, holding guys accountable,
05:04 and then you have these guys who complement your game in a way that we haven't really
05:08 seen.
05:09 And I think if you look at Christos Porzingis, he certainly fits that description as well.
05:13 That's going to be the challenge.
05:15 Stack team, a ton of stars on the roster.
05:18 If he is lined up against Luka Doncic, that could hurt him here.
05:21 So you're balancing that.
05:23 You're balancing winning.
05:24 And this year, what I think really works in his favor, and I said this on the show, he
05:28 plays every game.
05:29 And there's a 65-game threshold that's going to eliminate some contenders.
05:33 And I think it's going to make voters factor in whether he plays more games than some competitors
05:39 for the award.
05:40 Yeah, no question.
05:41 No question.
05:42 I mean, look, this is a conversation we'll carry throughout the entire season, but you
05:43 also have to remember that there's going to be other nights like this, right?
05:46 With the Sillas are a challenge even more so than what we saw tonight against the Brooklyn
05:49 Nets.
05:50 So, I mean, those stellar performances are always within reach when you're talking about
05:53 someone like Jason Tatum.
05:54 Those 40-point, 50-point performances.
05:55 I mean, we've already seen a handful of them throughout his career up until this point,
06:00 and he's 25 years old.
06:01 So I just, again, we don't want to get over-the-top excited about this team in the sense of their
06:07 championship aspirations.
06:09 But when we're talking about Jason Tatum, where he's at, I mean, it just sticks out
06:12 so much when you think about last season, the way it ended, right?
06:15 I mean, the hurt ankle in game seven, the trials and tribulations this team has been
06:21 through, the NBA finals in 2022.
06:23 I just think all of that, it makes this year obviously all the more important, but you're
06:29 seeing Tatum just evolve because of that.
06:33 And I think when you look at the organization, the way they surrounded him with this type
06:36 of talent, the sky's the limit.
06:38 But it's always going to be up to him, right?
06:40 He's got to also not only hold guys accountable, but at the same time, make sure that everyone's
06:45 on the exact same page.
06:46 So being an elite playmaker, or at least the best version of Tatum that we've seen, is
06:52 going to bring this team far, but it's just been fun to watch.
06:54 Even though it's only five games in, you're like, man, again, it just looks like the makings
06:58 of the MVP season.
06:59 And it looks like one of those years where this team couldn't possibly get it done.
07:03 I know it's still early.
07:04 I know it's only five games in, but they just continue to check all the boxes, two weeks
07:11 into the regular season.
07:12 Yeah, five and O, and doing it in a tough game tonight.
07:15 The Nets played them well.
07:16 I really enjoyed watching this one.
07:17 It was fun.
07:18 Joseph Pavone, Bobby Manning.
07:19 We're going to talk about the bench in our next video here.
07:22 They played a big role in this one, and you had a standout performance from the Luke Cornette.
07:27 We're going to hit on that, and then we're going to get out of here.
07:30 Celtics on to Minnesota.
07:31 I'll have coverage in Philadelphia on Wednesday, and then they're back home for a back-to-back
07:35 next weekend.
07:36 This has been the Garden Report here in Brooklyn.
07:38 For CELTICS All Access, I'm Joseph Pavone, Bobby Manning.
07:42 Talk to you in the next video.
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