Boston Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum is ready to guard LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers come opening night on October 17. Tatum sounded confident when asked about defending James in his regular season debut.
"It went good in my head. In my head," Tatum said according to ESPN. It is good that the Celtics newcomer is already bracing himself for a potential matchup with James. The reason why Tatum got questioned about this is that he is likely to start for the C's in the first few games of their campaign. Tatum will temporarily replace Marcus Morris who is dealing with knee soreness.
Brad Stevens says Marcus Morris (knee soreness) will likely miss the first week or so of the regular season.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 15, 2017
Tatum is no stranger to starting for the Celtics since he had this task for the majority of the preseason. The 19-year-old opened games alongside Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford. However, the regular season is a lot different with each team eager to win and start their respective years on a good note.
It would be interesting to see a promising prospect like Tatum try to stop James. Unfortunately, fans anticipating this might need to wait. There were recent reports that James could be out on opening night after aggravating an ankle injury.
When that happens, Tatum and the Celtics are going to take on a Cavaliers squad that will be without the four-time MVP.
Regular season rivalry
If LeBron James misses the Cleveland Cavaliers' season opener at the Quicken Loans Arena on the 17th, there are two more times that they will meet the Boston Celtics in the regular season.
On January 3, the Celtics are hosting the Cavs at the TD Garden. The final regular season game between these teams is on February 11, still at the TD Garden.
Aside from the regular season, there is a massive chance that the Celtics and Cavaliers collide in the 2018 NBA Playoffs. Many are expecting Boston and Cleveland to once again battle it out for the Eastern Conference championship.
Opening night excitement
In other Celtics news, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward are looking forward to their team's first outing of the regular season. The All-Stars are excited to return to action and face the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, for them, it is all about basketball, especially for Irving. There is drama after everything that transpired during the offseason between him and the Cavaliers. But for "Uncle Drew," his focus is on the upcoming game and not on the issues that surround his transfer to Boston in August.
