After defeating the Toronto Raptors on April 7, the Boston Celtics have one regular-season game remaining, and then, they will begin preparing for the playoffs.
Postseason success has always been the primary goal for this Celtics team, as they entered the season fresh off a crushing six-game defeat in the NBA Finals at the hands of the Golden State Warriors.
Yet, as Jayson Tatum sat in front of the media following Boston’s latest win, he discussed the hard work his team has been putting in throughout the past year before sending a warning to the rest of the NBA, stating that the Celtics have been working and waiting for this opportunity.
“Experience is the best teacher, Tatum said. “This group, (what) we’ve been through over his last two years, we’ve been through a lot. We’ve accomplished a lot and we’ve failed and we’ve failed together. And essentially, we worked all offseason, and preseason, and had a great regular season. I know we got one more game (left), but to get to this point, to get back to the playoffs, to get another opportunity and another shot. This is the moment that we have been waiting for, been working for.”
Tatum enjoyed 19 minutes of playing time against Toronto, scoring 21 points, grabbing 3 rebounds, and dishing out 4 assists while shooting 58.3% from the field but going 0-for-5 from three-point range.
Sam Hauser Sounds Off on Bench Reaction
During the contest against Toronto, Sam Hauser shocked the Celtics bench and their fans as he registered three dunks, with one of them being through contact during a fast break.
When speaking to the media after the game, Hauser explained what it felt like to look over at his team’s bench and see everybody celebrating something he’d done on the court, especially as dunking isn’t what he’s known for.
“When you don’t do something very often and then you do it, it’s like, it like gets everyone (excited), even when I see other people do things, it gets me excited,” Hauser said. “So I’m glad that they showed some motion. And it’s cool to see them celebrating something I did.”
Hauser ended the game as the Celtics’ top-scorer, finishing the contest with 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists on 62.5% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from deep as he made the most of a sharp spike in playing time.
Jaylen Brown Discusses Winning Award
“I’ve put my everything into this team, I’ve put my everything into this city, into this organization since I’ve been here. To get that award, I thought meant a lot.”
Jaylen Brown on winning the Red Auerbach award
Jaylen Brown was not part of the Celtics rotation that easily dispatched the Raptors, but he was part of the squad that defeated them on April 5, shortly after being awarded the Red Auerbach Award before tip-0ff.
Following that April 5 game, Brown discussed what winning the award meant to him, noting that he has put ‘everything’ into the Celtics since being drafted by them in 2016. Unfortunately for Celtics fans, they’re unlikely to see Brown back on the court before the playoffs, as it was revealed he has cut his hand on a piece of glass, which means he’s unlikely to feature in Boston’s April 9 game against the Atlanta Hawks.
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Jayson Tatum Issues Warning After Celtics Beat Raptors