NBA All-Star notebook: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown trash talk; Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons rule out

A year ago, Boston Celtics fans got a kick out of Jayson Tatum posting up Kemba Walker in the All-Star game. 

“I locked him up, like I told him,” Walker joked after Tatum missed a long fadeaway. Some of the fun of that matchup is that it rarely ever happened in practice, unlike the regular one-on-one sessions between Tatum and Jaylen Brown. In fact, Tatum has spent so much time facing Brown inside the Auerbach Center that he was actually looking forward to a little break from it.  

“I’m sure we’re on the court at the same time, it might happen, but I was thinking about guarding somebody else,” Tatum said. “But if it does happen, I know all of his moves. I know what he’s gonna do, so I ain’t gonna let him score.”

Strong words from Tatum, who clearly feels like he has Brown’s number. Armed with that trash talk, Brown was asked if he’d have to dig a little deeper in his bag for something extra to throw at Tatum. 

“Nah. Nothing extra needed,” Brown joked in his pregame Zoom session. “Get the puppies moving and it’s a wrap. So, I'm looking forward to it. Me and JT obviously play one-on-one. He thinks he know my moves but I tell him all the time like I ain't got to do too much. He thinks he knows my moves.”

An All-Star matchup one of the high points of a relationship that has grown between Boston’s young stars since day one when Tatum and Brown were often paired up in practices. 

“(Our) first two years, we had the same shooting coach, (former Celtics assistant coach Micah) Shrewsberry, so we always kind of shot together,” Tatum said. “And we’re just always in the gym, always working, always trying to get better, just trying to push each other. A lot of one-on-one games, a lot of shooting drills. Just came kinda natural.”

Preparing For The Shootout 

The game isn’t the only time Brown and Tatum will be trying to best one another. Both are involved in the three-point shootout before the game. 

“I got some practice. I worked on it a couple of times and just kind of get the technique down,” Tatum said. “It is a difference grabbing the balls off the rack. The balls are different, the money balls, so have to go practice for that. But it should be fun.” 

Grabbing a ball off a rack is just a different physiological experience. Instead of catching a pass or pulling up off a dribble, pulling the ball off the rack is a different feel that could involve different strategies. 

Do you stand to the left or the right of the rack? Pull it off with your off hand or shooting hand? Where do you put the money ball? 

“The strategy is to win,” Brown said. “I’m extremely grateful to be here. I’m going to have some fun, that’s my strategy. My strategy is to put the ball in the basket as much as I can. Obviously there’s little details that I paid attention to and I worked on but, for the most part, have fun and try to bring it home.”

That fun could be enhanced with fans in the building.

“I’m a little disappointed there won’t be 25,000 people there, but at the same time, that might help,” Tatum said. “You might get a little nervous being the only one shooting, but since there’s only going to be 1,000 people there, it might make it a little easier actually.”

Jaylen Brown, role model

Jonathan Kuminga of the G League Ignite team is one of the top prospects in what’s expected to be one of the most loaded drafts in recent memory. The 6’8” forward is drawing comparisons to Brown. 

“That’s great, fantastic. A lot of work was put into where I’m at today, so this experience is a win,” Brown aid, while joking that this now makes him an “old” player. “To be able to be a role model for somebody else is an accomplishment for me in itself. It means I’ve kind of persevered through a lot... it’s nothing better than when people say things like that. It’s a very, very humbling feeling.”

Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons out 

Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were ruled out of the All-Star game on Sunday after a barber both had visited in Philadelphia tested positive for COVID-19. According to the league, they didn’t come in contact with any of their coaches (Doc Rivers is coaching in the game) nor did they interact with any of the other players. 

The NBA takes and as many rules and safety protocols are in place, we do know that some things you just can't control,” Tatum said. “It's unfortunate. I hope those guys are okay because it's not something you want to contract or experience. I know how it affects you and how it makes you feel but I think that's just kind of what we've known coming into the season.”

The NBA has taken a lot of heat for even putting on this game, with Brooklyn Nets star James Harden saying today that “this All-Star Game was kind of forced, and thrown upon us.” Commissioner Adam Silver defended the event. 

“Throughout this pandemic, we’ve sought to find the right balance between the health and safety of our players, the community that’s involved in producing NBA basketball, and of course our fans, along with the economic interests as well of our community,” Silver said. “Add into that social justice issues. So all of that has been on our mind since almost a year ago when we shut down the NBA... we feel we’ve struck the appropriate balance here, looking out for the interests of everyone involved.”