Bernie: From Chaminade Prep To The Championship Stage, Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk Are Making St. Louis Proud.

St. Louisans Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk are halfway there. A hockey player who skates for a team in Florida and a basketball player who hoops for Boston have a lot in common. Chaminade Prep in St. Louis is the tie that binds them.

The Eagles have just about landed.

That would be the Chaminade Prep Eagles.

Tatum’s Boston Celtics have a 2-0 lead over Dallas in the NBA Finals. Tkachuk’s Florida Panthers are up 2-0 on Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final.

The two Chaminade-raised stars are trying to watch each other despite busy schedules, hectic media obligations and the roiling pressure that comes with the intense quest for a championship.

The saying game recognize game certainly applies to these former classmates, each two wins away from a championship | @FlaPanthers, @celtics ⤵️https://t.co/PyFK5NqKaf

— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) June 12, 2024

“I’m a big Matthew fan,” Tatum told NBA media earlier this week. “We went to school together. I actually watched him win last night. I’m trying to learn and understand the rules in the game of hockey more and more. I got to watch the game (Monday). They won. Like I said, I’m extremely happy for him and his family. Hopefully they win it all.”

Here’s Tkachuck on Tatum: “Yeah it’s actually really cool when you think about it. Everyone from St. Louis, whether they were going to watch or not, with having both of us in, I’d say there’s a lot of people, especially the kids we grew up with and families and people who know us, they’re pulling for both teams. It’s super cool to have that support back home for not only myself, but for the Celtics as well.”

Both of their teams are in strong shape to capture the ultimate prize in their sports. Home teams that win the first two games of the NBA Finals have gone on to win the championship 86 percent of the time. In the NHL, home teams that go up 2-0 historically have a 91 percent chance to lift the Stanley Cup.

 

The Celtics have been the NBA’s best team all season. They sprinted through the regular season with a 64-18 record. No other NBA team won more than 57 games. The run has continued in the postseason with Boston winning 14 of 16 games including the last nine. The Celtics are in Dallas for Games 3 and 4 and have not lost on the road this postseason.

Florida had the NHL’s fifth-best record during the regular season and was tied with Dallas for the most road wins. That gives the Panthers a chance to put the Oilers away in Edmonton over the next two games.

The Oilers will probably win a game – or perhaps even two – and extend the series and push it to Game 5 at Florida … especially if the world’s best player, Connor McDavid, finds his missing scoring touch. But Tkachuk’s team has the best road record in these playoffs at 6-2. Not only that, but the Panthers have the largest goals-scored share and best save percentage on the road during this Stanley Cup tournament.

Tatum and Tkachuk previously experienced bitter disappointment at this stage. The sting was painful but made them stronger. The Celtics led Golden State 2-1 in the best of seven NBA Finals in 2022 before losing three in a row. The Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final a year ago and were squashed by Vegas in five games.

Both young men have said they were more prepared this time around. Getting so close to a title – only to lose in the final series of the season – can increase hunger, add extra inspiration, and push proud competitors in an urgent desire to improve on all of their weaknesses.

“I think being in the Finals two years ago has helped me in this moment,” Tatum said during a Tuesday media session.

Tatum is struggling with his shooting in a slump that has prompted a lot of squawking on the screaming-head TV shows. But lost in the lava of the absurd hot takes is Tatum’s tremendous value as a rebounder, playmaker, and defensive hawk.

Tatum is a much better all-around player than he was in 2022, when he faded and lost some confidence in the final three losses to the Warriors. He responded to the failure by all but locking himself in a gym that summer to become more physical and effective on drives to the basket and expanding on ways to become a force even when the shots aren’t falling.

In Boston’s seven-point win in Game 2, Tatum was one rebound shy of a triple double. He repeatedly collapsed the Dallas defense with his determined excursions to the basket. His 29 drives in Game 2 was more than three times higher than his regular season average.

“Every time I’d take a couple dribbles, there were three people (defenders) right there,” Tatum said after Game 2. “So we got a bunch of shooters on our team and guys that can space the floor. So it wasn’t like I had to do anything spectacular. It was just about finding the open guy.”

Through the first two games of the NBA Finals, Tatum leads the Celtics in total rebounds, defensive rebounds, and assists. He’s also muscled up to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line.

We’ve seen how Tatum’s hard work is paying off. Unable to bank on his shooting touch, he’s taken the Mavericks on a ride to the rim, drawing double-team blitzes before using his silky passing touch to slip the ball to an open teammate in the lane, or redirecting the flow with a pass to the perimeter to set up a Celtic for an unchallenged three-point attempt.

Tatum averaged 17 points in the first two games and more scoring will come if Boston needs that from him. He soon will find a shooting rhythm that’s been a little too funky. In the meantime, Tatum has shape shifted to become unstoppable in other ways. He’s the catalyst of an offense that has overwhelmed the Mavericks inside. And in the first two games, the Celtics were a plus 25 in point differential with Tatum on the floor.

“I understand that I do need to be more efficient. I do need to shoot the ball better, I would not disagree with anybody on that,” Tatum said. “But I’m not letting it bother me. I’m still trying to find ways to impact the game and dominate the game in other areas.”

Defensively, Tatum has forced the superstar Luca Doncic into several turnovers, hounding him and exerting enough pressure to wear Doncic down in the fourth quarter of each game.

Tatum’s effective defense is one of the key factors in Boston limiting the Mavericks to a pedestrian 93.5 points per game during the Finals. Throughout the postseason, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla hasn’t hesitated to put Tatum against the opposing team’s center.

Tatum can defend shooting guards, power forwards, centers … and also serve as Boston’s de facto point guard, or a power-forward truck, or a small-forward with finesse and footwork to his game. Winning is all that matters.

“It has a lot to do with the fact that I’ve been here before and we didn’t win,” Tatum told reporters earlier this week. “We’re so close to what we’re trying to accomplish. Why would I let my ego or my need to score all the points get in the way of that?”

“One game, I could explode (as a scorer.) All the percentages and things like that could change. So it’s just that mindset of, I’m one game away or whatever that means. Like I said the other day, I know what it’s like to be in this position and lose. This time around, I’m trying to do any and everything possible to have a different outcome.”

Tkachuk has been his usual self: hard-hitting, ornery, tenacious, talented, disruptive … but emotionally under control. He came into the Cup Final with 19 points on five goals and 14 assists in 19 games, which tied him for the Florida lead with center Aleksander Barkov (six goals, 13 assists).

Tkachuk and Tatum are on a similar trajectory. Tkachuk didn’t have a point in the first two games against Edmonton, but he blasted the Oilers with eight hits in maintaining the strong presence that’s true to his identity. Tkachuk is a plus-two through the first two games. You can’t take your eyes off him. This is a menacing guy. This is why Florida acquired him from Calgary two summers ago.

“I mean, if you watch Matthew Tkachuk play hockey and then you watch our team, it wasn’t a great leap to think this is a pretty significant add that can come in, and he brings that energy and enthusiasm,” Florida GM Bill Zito told reporters this week. “I think he was 24 at the time, a younger player still coming into his prime, and he’s a big moment guy.”

St. Louis sports fans obviously should be proud of these two accomplished sons from The Lou. Both are 26 years old. Both are zooming in on what would be the first league championship of their careers. And both have roots at Chaminade.

“I know I’m watching the (Celtics) games,” Tkachuk said. “Yeah, I’m definitely cheering for him. I think it would be unreal for Chaminade and all of St. Louis if we can both win it.”

Thanks for reading …

–Bernie

A 2023 inductee into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Bernie hosts an opinionated sports-talk show on 590 The Fan, KFNS. It airs 3-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4-6 p.m. Friday. Stream live or access the podcast on 590thefan.com or the 590 The Fan St. Louis app.

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