Irving-Tatum bond becomes stronger
Of Kyrie Irving’s four assists in Saturday’s 8785 victory against host Brooklyn, three were to Jayson Tatum — none larger than the two for the Celtics’ final buckets that pulled them from a deficit to their sixth straight win.
But while Irving has been finding his fellow Duke one-and-done all season, he’s been lending him a hand for much longer. And not just on the hardwood.
The 25-year-old veteran quickly allowed after the latest triumph that he wasn’t surprised in the least that Tatum drained the winning 3-pointer from the left corner in the final minute. In fact, he expected it.
He knew well to whom he was passing the rock.
“We had a developing relationship before this, before he even got drafted, so he’s kind of been part of the family even before then,” Irving said of the 19-year-old wunderkind. “And that was even before I got traded. So it was already developing into a brother-brother relationship, and then I ended up coming here and getting traded here. And then from that point it’s just continued to develop.”
When discussing issues like this, Irving seems to take care to avoid speaking in a patronizing manner — such as a star from a previous stage of his basketball life may or may not have done. Instead, he always veers toward crediting the subject, particularly a younger one, for his own merits and accomplishments.
“I give him his space and he gives me mine,” said Irving of Tatum, “but whenever he needs an ear to lend or that extra push, I’m there — and I told him that from Day 1. I said, ‘No matter what’s going on out here, you can always look to me to do that confidence in you.’
“Even in my rookie season, I had Byron Scott (then the Cavaliers coach) giving me that extra push in times when you need it. And as a rookie, that’s important, you know, just, ‘It’s OK, man. You’re in the NBA now. It’s all right.’
“But,” Irving added, “Jayson’s been doing a great job with just being mature beyond his years.”
And if Tatum has any questions as he travels these new roads, Irving will be ready to assist.