Last June, in the days following the Celtics’ Finals loss to Golden State, Jayson Tatum went dark. Friends couldn’t reach him. Most family, either. His longtime trainer, Drew Hanlen, said he had never gone more than a week without at least a text from Tatum. This was longer. When Tatum finally reemerged he was stunned by how often he was congratulated for a successful season. What are you congratulating me for, Tatum wondered. We lost.
Nearly a year later, Tatum faced the possibility of an even darker summer. Through three quarters of Game 6 of the Celtics semifinal series against the 76ers, Tatum was awful. He had six assists, picked up a couple of steals and contributed to a stingy Boston defense. But he couldn’t make a shot. He was 1-of-13 entering the fourth quarter. He was 0-of-6 from three. While Tatum struggled, Philadelphia erased a seven-point halftime deficit and surged to a two-point lead.
Losing in the Finals was hard.
