On May 16, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued. In yesterday's Eastern Conference semifinals tie-break, Tatum scored a record 51 points and led the Celtics to a victory over the 76ers to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Earlier today, Tatum's trainer Drew Hanlon spoke in an interview about an interesting story, saying that this was the reason for the outbreak of Tatum's Big Seven.
He said: "I sent Tatum a picture before the game of Curry scoring 50 points in the first round, which inspired him, but I didn't expect him to break the record. Tatum's mentality at G6 is that you have to make the jump shot perfect, and he's relaxed at G7, he's really relaxed, he just believes in himself, and the rest is to see how he makes history. ”
It's worth mentioning that Drew Hanlon is also Embiid's trainer, and he said of the two: "It all started at the gym where they were together, and Embiid would come early to watch Tatum's workouts. Tatum would also practice late so they would do the same. There is absolutely mutual respect between them! But if Embiid wins MVP and then knocks out Tatum and the Greens in the playoffs, Tatum will have to endure Embiid's trash talk throughout the offseason. It will also be interesting for himself. ”
Drew Hanlon also said that Tatum was seen as an MVP favorite early in the season, but he always knew what was at stake between championships and MVPs, and only cared about winning an NBA championship. Last summer, when Tatum showed up on the training ground, Embiid approached him and asked him what he thought after losing the Finals. Tatum's response: "Once you've played the Finals, the only thing you think about is to go back to the Finals, because nothing is more important. ”
Tatum is currently leading the team to the divisional finals, just one round away from returning to the Finals, and Embiid won this season's regular-season MVP.
Tatum's father also praised Tatum in the interview, saying, "Since you're setting a standard for yourself, you have to be able to understand the boos that comes with it." I hope he doesn't get so much attention, hopefully he passes the ball more and finds another way to drive the whole team and he will do that. You'll see him complain but eventually put his head down and run back to defense, so I like the process of growing and maturing. ”
This season is Tatum's sixth career and he has reached the divisional finals four times. According to the schedule, the Celtics will host the Eastern Conference finals with the Heat on May 18.