Youth well served
Tatum, Brown, Rozier gain playoff experience
WALTHAM — Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were children when LeBron James first went up against the Celtics in the playoffs.
“Yesterday they showed a flashback of him playing against the Celtics and all that and we were young,” Rozier said after yesterday’s practice. “His first Eastern Conference final I think Jayson Tatum was 9, so it’s just all unique and I remember days like yesterday, watching with my friends, watching him play against the Celtics, watching him make his push in the playoffs and now I get to go against him.
“I can’t put it into words. I’m excited but at the same time I want to compete and beat him. You always get to have that on your resume forever. That’s something I want to do. It’s a lot of fun. It’s something I look forward to, something we all look forward to and are all excited about.”
This is about more than resume material, of course. The absences of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward have thrown a load of responsibility on Celtics youth, with Rozier, Tatum and Brown filling that void with surprising success.
Rozier’s baptism by fire came as a rookie in the first round of the 2016 playoffs against Atlanta, when he was thrown in after Avery Bradley went down in Game 1 with a strained hamstring. Brown logged significant playoff minutes as a rookie last year, and Tatum is doing the same as a starter now, currently with a seven-game streak of 20 or more points.
Coach Brad Stevens clearly developed a framework that allows young talent to thrive.
“A lot of our guys have been thrown into the fire,” said center Al Horford. “It’s been designed that way so guys can develop and learn as they go. One of the things that helps them is the way coach helps them prepare, and the way he teaches the game. He teaches all of us the game as the season goes on. He’s constantly teaching us things that we can work on to get better.
“It’s not going to be perfect, but one thing the coach always talks about is effort. Our young guys are not perfect all the time, but everybody gives effort. Sometimes that trumps a lot of the mistakes and things like that. I think coach understands and that’s why we get such positive results from this group of guys.”
And when effort trumps mistakes, the result is growth.
“Maybe early in the season I was worried about making mistakes, but now I’m just a lot more calm and relaxed,” said Tatum, whose growth was accelerated by the opening night loss of Hayward to a broken ankle.
“We’re all here for a reason, and we all work hard,” said Rozier. “Jaylen and Jayson were drafted way higher than me, but the opportunity is the same when you get that chance. They’ve taken advantage of it all year. They come in with a professional attitude, and it’s an opportunity to get better. Gotta answer it when it comes knocking at your door. That’s what I did my first two years, and that’s all I see. This organization does a great job of making everyone feel as important as the most important guy.”
Rozier also doesn’t look at his own NBA beginnings as a sudden toss into the fire.
“I kind of watched, so when Avery got hurt I knew what was going to happen,” he said. “It’s not as if I didn’t play the first couple of games and then the coaches just threw me out there. I had a chance to prepare and know I was going to play some minutes. Get ready and step up to the plate. Kind of worked out good. It makes you feel more comfortable the way things are here. If you do make a mistake, you know you can always make up for it in the defensive end. Knowing you’re going to make mistakes, if you’re comfortable you’re going to be fine.”