NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. WARRIORS

June 10, 2022

Jayson Tatum

Boston Celtics

Game 4: Postgame

Warriors 107, Celtics 97

Q. You are playing in the NBA Finals at just 24 years old, being one of the stars of the team. How has this experience been for you?

JAYSON TATUM: It's been great. Just trying to stay in the moment, not think about it too much. Obviously we got a job to do, so just kind of thinking of it as just another game, not get too high about it.

Q. It seemed like you were looking for fouls. It seemed like you were not getting the calls regardless if you were fouled or not. What can you do to get yourself going offensively to make the game easier? They're really trying to stop you. It seems like you were frustrated that second half.

JAYSON TATUM: When I do have space, I'm open, I got to take the shot. Obviously, any time I hold it too long, they load up and things like that. I think just quick decisions, don't turn down any open looks, any daylight that I have, just continue to try to make the right pass.

I had too many turnovers tonight. I think just make quicker decisions.

Q. Jayson, does it feel like you let one slip away, or did they take it in the fourth? How do you feel at the end of that one?

JAYSON TATUM: It's tough. You’ve got to give them credit, they played well. They made some big shots, things like that.

We obviously felt like we put ourselves in the position to win the game. There's a lot of things we wish we would have done differently, especially on the offensive end. I think we just got way too stagnant late in the fourth from everybody.

But it's a new series, so best-of-three. Get some sleep and get on this long-ass flight tomorrow (smiling).

Q. They're really packing the paint when you get the ball in your hands. How can you create some more space for you to score in the paint? You're driving and kicking quite a bit.

JAYSON TATUM: I don't think that's the problem. I mean, I feel like I can get my shot off whenever. It's just making the right play throughout the course of the game, and not necessarily just staring. Sometimes we get it, we all did it at times. We just got to move. I think that's when we're most effective, when everybody is moving.

We move the ball really well, but it's kind of hard to move the ball when we're just standing there.

Q. Ime thought that you guys might have hunted mismatches too much, gotten stagnant during those moments. How do you handle that better personally to get the offense going in those moments?

JAYSON TATUM: Yeah, so there's just a balance. You don't want to do it every single play because hopefully you're getting stops and running out in transition.

Even when you do find the mismatch, what you want, some guys to still be moving on the backside, not just standing there watching, you know, setting screens, flares, slipping and things like that. It's kind of hard to score in isolation every single time.

Q. It seems like historically you tend to like to get the ball and slow down and kind of assess and figure out how to attack. How much different has it been over the course of this year and the course of this series to get into that mindset of constantly trying to make those quick decisions rather than, I'm going to try to do this?

JAYSON TATUM: I think I say it a lot, it's just each play is kind of different. I think more so when I answered Gary's question about shooting it quick and making quick decisions. That's when somebody dribbles and kicks it out to me, that's when I got to be quicker.

But initiating the offense, scanning the floor, trying to put guys in certain positions, obviously takes a little more time. So, I mean, it just depends, time and score scenario, things like that.

Q. That indecisiveness and struggling to find a rhythm in this series, is that the Warriors' defense? Are they doing anything different? Or is it you?

JAYSON TATUM: I mean, I give them credit, they're a great team. They're playing well. They got a game plan, things like that.

But it's on me. I got to be better. I know I'm impacting the game in other ways, but I got to be more efficient, shoot the ball better, finish at the rim better.

I take accountability for that. I just look forward to Monday. Leave this one behind us. Learn from it, watch the film, things like that, but everybody probably feels like they got to be better, myself included. Just go get it on Monday.

Q. We've talked about resiliency. You haven't lost back-to-back games in the Playoffs. We also have talked about how you make life harder than it needs to be. Do you ever get sick of that or just take it in stride? How do you deal with that?

JAYSON TATUM: Deal with what?

Q. Making life hard when it doesn't need to be.

JAYSON TATUM: We don't do this (expletive) on purpose. I promise you, we don't. We trying as hard as we can. There's certain things we got to clean up. Obviously turnovers, movement on the offensive end. Would we have liked to have won today and be up 3-1? That would have been best-case scenario.

But it's the Finals. The art of competition, they came here feeling like they had to win. It wasn't easy. I think that's kind of the beauty of it, that it's not going to be easy. It shouldn't be.

We know we both want it and we got to go take it.

Q. You said it's on you to be better. Is it possible you're putting too much pressure on yourself to be better?

JAYSON TATUM: No. I think that's just as simple as it is. I just got to be better. I know I can be better, so it's not like I, myself or my team is asking me to do something I'm not capable of. They know the level and I know the level that I can play at.

It’s kind of on me to do that more often than not just to help my team in the best way that I can.

It's not too much pressure at all. It's kind of like my job.