Jayson Tatum says the Boston Celtics always leave the door open for former players to return to Boston to play for them once again.
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The Boston Celtics got off to quite the rough start this 2022 NBA season. Instead of carrying out Ime Udoka’s vision of ball and player movement, Jayson Tatum and company continued to divulge into ball-stopping plays, late shot clock chucks, and isolations.
As time has passed, the Celts have found their identity on both ends of the floor, especially the defensive end. They have been undefeated in the month of February and are 16-6 in their last 22 games. They have worked their way up from an abysmal 111.2 defensive rating in December to a league second best 105.1.
With their defense already being as good as it is currently, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can focus even more of their energy on offense after acquiring one of the league’s best perimeter defenders in Derrick White from the San Antonio Spurs.
Jayson Tatum says the Celtics will always welcome back players into the fold.
Derrick White isn’t the only new addition to the Celtics as Daniel Theis has returned to Boston after spending a little less than half of last season with the Bulls and the first half of this season with the Rockets.
Prior to that, Theis had been a Boston Celtic from 2017 till the time he made his way to Chicago. Jayson Tatum and company clearly made a solid connection with Theis as the Celts swingman entered the league with Theis on the roster.
When talking about the trade deadline, Tatum said, “I think when people the Celtics, the door is always open for them to come back. Somebody I know very well and happy to have back as a teammate.”
Jayson Tatum: “I think when people leave the Celtics, the door is always open for them to come back. … Somebody I know very well and happy to have back as a teammate.”
— Souichi Terada (寺田惣一) (@SouichiTerada) February 11, 2022
With their defense in places and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown being able to turn it up on offense when need be, the Celtics are beginning to look like a dark horse out East to make it to the Conference Finals.