Getty Boston Celtics center Tacko Fall slam dunks the basketball during a game against the Washington Wizards.
Things look to be getting back on track for the Boston Celtics, whose only blip over the last five games was a three-point road loss to the now 8-4 Dallas Mavericks. Celtics star Jayson Tatum isn’t about to pat himself or the rest of the team on the back, though.
Instead, he’s laser-focused on the Beantowners’ back-to-back series with the Cleveland Cavaliers. More specifically, he’s bracing himself for a knockdown, drag-out fight with an old teammate — big man Tacko Fall.
“We gotta stop Tacko,” Tatum said, via MassLive. “That’s the game plan. You know how tall he is and how big he is.”
Although Tatum and Co. will have two opportunities to reunite with Fall over the next few days, there’s no telling whether it will happen or not. The former Celtic was recently on assignment with the Cavs’ G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge. Tatum definitely wants to see him on the court, though.
“I hope he’s there. I obviously miss him and how much of a joy he is to be around. All the fans love him. So that’s the game plan tomorrow: Stop Tacko, beat him up and down the court, get him in foul trouble.”
Fall Just Lit Up the G League
Much as he was with the Celtics over the previous two years, Fall is currently inked to a two-way deal with the Cavs. He looks to be taking advantage of the time he gets to spend in the G League, too.
During the Charge’s 105-88 victory over the Windy City Bulls on November 11, Fall thrilled the crowd at the Wolstein Center. In his first-ever action with the club, the 7-foot-5 center put up 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting. He also contributed 12 boards and three blocked shots in 29 minutes of action.
The Charge outscored the Bulls by 23 points when he was on the floor.
Fall has yet to see significant court time with the Cavs this season, however. To date, he has logged a grand total of seven minutes over three appearances, scoring seven points and grabbing three rebounds. Nevertheless, he continues to win fans just as he did in Boston, and Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff is one of them.
”He’s an unbelievable human being,” Bickerstaff said of Fall during training camp. “Every single day he comes to work with the same attitude, the same joy in his face. He looks you in the eye when he speaks to you. So, he’s the type of person that you just root for in general.”
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Fall’s Time With the Celtics
Aside from garbage-time minutes and stepping in situationally or as an injury replacement, Fall never got much run with the Celtics. Over his two-year run in Boston, the Senegalese national played in just 26 total games, averaging 2.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per contest.
Still, he made a clear impression on the Celtics and their fans, and the feeling was mutual.
“Words cannot express how much I have enjoyed playing in Boston these last 2 years. It was both a blessing and an honor,” he wrote in a Twitter thread after joining the Cavs. “I’ll forever be grateful for all the love and support I have received in my time here.”
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Celtics Star Amped for Bout With Old Teammate: ‘We Gotta Stop Tacko’