Tatum muscles up, takes big step

Jayson Tatum, as with most things, is quietly succinct about his development as a young scoring star.

His latest big shot — a 17-foot turnaround over the Knicks’ Tim Hardaway Jr. Saturday after recovering his own missed dunk — offered further proof of how unruffled the 20-year-old has become when it’s crunch time.

“Felt more comfortable than I would have last year. Think it’s just easier with timing, as you play more games you get more relaxed,” said Tatum, the Celtics’ leading scorer in the 2018 postseason. “Just gave me experience in the playoffs, gave me moments to make big shots and miss some.”

Teammates, anyway, are no longer surprised.

“Go back to last year when he really came into his own,” Marcus Morris said. “Go around the league, there’s a lot of really young guys showing they can play at a high level, and Tatum is doing it every night. He’s carving his name into the league. We see him in practice every day, so it’s not new to us.”

Tatum reported for duty this fall with about eight pounds of new muscle, and a notable difference in his shoulders. For a player who already has demonstrated an ability to score through contact, a la Paul Pierce, the additional strength fulfilled a goal set by his coaches, with an eye especially on Tatum’s ability to defend.

“I think one of the key areas of emphasis has been core strength so that he can play lower longer,” said Brad Stevens. “Especially with the way the game is being called now so you can’t wrap peo- ple and hold onto people. You’ve gotta be able to play low, you gotta be able to play in a stance. I think that that’s the No.1 thing. He’s always been a guy that can put the ball in the hoop and can do a lot of positive things for your team, but he can get a lot better in a lot of areas.”

Let’s get physical

Befitting a player who wants to take on the opposition’s toughest scorer, Jaylen Brown’s two-way responsibilities have been challenging over the first three games.

As it would be for any player, his attempt to guard Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard Friday led to quick foul trouble. Hardaway Jr. gave Brown similar trouble.

“You have to balance being appropriately physical,” Stevens said of Brown’s early foul trouble. “There’s a physicality that’s required to be a good defender. And so we’re asking him to guard a lot of good players. Ultimately, that’s just part of it.

“I talked to him a little bit; he’s young. He’s a young guy and he’s incredibly accomplished, but he’s still very young, and he’s got an expedited learning curve because of how smart he is.”

Technical difficulty

It only took Morris three games to pick up his first technical foul Saturday, and the big forward actually sounded a little disappointed in himself.

“I was trying to wait until at least 15 games before my first tech, push it to the limit. I apologized to him,” Morris said of the offended referee. “I just thought it was really soft, lot of tickytack calls.”

But Morris can’t get too upset since the referees appear to be following through on the so-called points of emphasis outlined during the exhibition season.

“I guess they’re doing a good job of not changing, but it’s getting real ticky-tacky,” he said. “Lot of little stuff you normally get away with that they’re locking down on. It started in the preseason, so I can’t fault them for calling it during the year. One particular play, I was just trying to carve my space.”

Porzingis praise

It had been thought in New York that Kyrie Irving’s appreciation of the injured Kristaps Porzingis might lead to a joining of the two next summer via free agency — a possibility that the Celtics guard has squashed with his stated intention of re-signing with the Celtics.

“I’ve kinda just been a fan from afar,” Irving said. “Obviously seeing him around New York when I’m here in the summertime. But I’ve been a fan of KP, even before, then just watching him play. I was asking him after the game, if he’s getting healthy.

“It was tough watching him go down, such a great young player, such a great piece. I’m always going to be a fan of how talented he is.”