Three weeks ago, in the flow of the NBA season, many players didn\u2019t realize the extent of the growing coronavirus threat. Both LeBron James and Kemba Walker shot down ideas of games without fans, before the virus exploded to a level that made that idea negligible days before it would\u2019ve been enacted.<\/p>\n
Players like Jayson Tatum have been sat at home since, setting the standard, for roughly two weeks. Jeff Goodman caught up with Tatum in quarantine, as he resides in a Boston-area apartment complex with his family nearby. He thought about returning to St. Louis, but without an established home there since he made Boston his new one three years ago he\u2019s riding out the storm in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating, but … it\u2019s not the worst thing in the world,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cJust stay at home. If you got food and a TV and Wifi, that\u2019s all you need, especially if you\u2019re my age and you don\u2019t have any kids, just stay at home. You\u2019re making it harder for everybody else and you may be prolonging how long this is going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tatum hangs out with Deuce most days, ordering food with his stepfather occasionally delivering groceries. He hasn\u2019t left his house, dribbled or shot a basketball once since returning from Milwaukee, instead watching highlights straight through his youth until this season. Deuce, who\u2019s yet to produce his own highlight tape, has watched Kung Fu Panda on repeat instead.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s left Tatum and others to contemplate what it\u2019d take to get back into shape in any event that the NBA is able to salvage this season. The Celtics had 17 games remaining, and he assumed that he would need roughly half of those games to get back into shape. LeBron James echoed that sentiment recently, calling for a week of training camp and some games before the playoffs could begin.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo weeks maybe, to practice and be around each other again,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cIt\u2019ll help the teams that had guys injured. It\u2019ll definitely give them more time … I think about teams like Toronto and Milwaukee who were winning … I think that\u2019s tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roughly 40 staff members and the Celtic briefly met over video chat recently. All NBA facilities closed since various players tested positive for COVID-19, including Marcus Smart. That left players like Tatum doing what they can in their homes. Brad Stevens said this week that the Celtics delivered bikes, individual weights and virtual workout sessions.<\/p>\n
Tatum has set up a makeshift gym in his garage with a bike and some weightlifting equipment. Boston and he will continue teleconferences for weeks to come to stay in touch, more for community than anything basketball.<\/p>\n
Tatum\u2019s made a similar pivot away from the sport toward constructing a bunkbed for Deuce. He\u2019s not into Call of Duty as most of his teammates are, preferring 2K which he\u2019d likely play until 4 a.m. if Deuce wasn\u2019t around. While some around the league like LeBron have access to their own indoor courts, Tatum hasn\u2019t met his income goal for such a purchase. As savings-minded as he is, he\u2019s weighing if a max contract could cover such a thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have to think about how much that costs, that\u2019s probably expensive,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Three weeks ago, in the flow of the NBA season, many players didn\u2019t realize the extent of the growing coronavirus threat. Both LeBron James and Kemba Walker shot down ideas of games without fans, before the virus exploded to a level that made that idea negligible days before it would\u2019ve been enacted. Players like Jayson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":131990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,396],"tags":[2033,1930,1573,1649,615,540,1471,1472,2700],"class_list":["post-80846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","category-sports","tag-basketball","tag-boston","tag-brad-stevens","tag-celtics","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid","tag-jayson-tatum","tag-nba","tag-podcast"],"yoast_head":"\n