Jayson Tatum Praises Kristaps Porzingis' Sacrifice: 'Outside of His Comfort Zone'

The theme of this Celtics season is sacrifice. Boston boasts the most talented top six in the NBA, but each member of that group's willingness to put what's best for the collective before personal wants is what's allowing the team to maximize that edge.

Their mentality fueled a 64-18 regular season, registering the best record in the league and earning the Celtics home-court advantage throughout their playoff run.

Jayson Tatum spoke on Saturday at the Auerbach Center about his excitement for starting this year's NBA Finals at TD Garden, unlike when they opened the championship round in the Bay in 2022. It also means that Boston would host the Mavericks in Game 7 with the Larry O'Brien Trophy on the line if necessary.

As the Celtics start reintegrating Kristaps Porzingis, who participated in everything the team did at Saturday's moderate practice, with Joe Mazzulla sharing the plan calls for a significantly harder session on Sunday, Tatum praised the seven-foot-three center while detailing the sacrifices he's made to help Boston be in this position, four wins from Banner 18, with home-court advantage on its side.

"KP essentially did exactly what we needed him to do the entire season, whether it was (to) punish switches, or space the five-man, be in the corner, sometimes that might be going possessions without touching the ball, or it may be when they're switching, we give him the ball five times in a row," said Tatum.

"Joe talks about everybody – open-mindedness to whatever we're trying to do. We switch things up a lot; we have so many talented, gifted players on the offensive end and defensive end, and everybody has to be open to trying different things. I give KP a lot of credit, especially as someone as talented as he is and as tall as he is – a lot of big men may be stuck in their ways, doing what makes them comfortable. He got outside of his comfort zone a little bit, and that made us a better team."

Porzingis' return for a best-of-seven against his former team, whether it's for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday or requires more patience, is a development that could swing whether the Celtics' summer plans include a duck boat parade down Boylston Street or if they'll once again have to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to break through to become champions.

Further Reading

Jayson Tatum Grateful for Second Chance in NBA Finals

Kristaps Porzingis Making Encouraging Progress Toward NBA Finals Return

NBA Finals MVP Odds: Jayson Tatum Front-Runner for Bill Russell Trophy

NBA Finals Betting Lines: Celtics Significant Favorites Over Mavs

Joe Mazzulla Eviscerates Contrived Narrative about Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown

Celtics-Mavericks NBA Finals Has Kyrie Irving Between Boston and Banner 18

Al Horford Returns to NBA Finals Aiming to Add to a Legacy Already Cemented

Jaylen Brown's Evolution Propels Him to Eastern Conference Finals MVP