Cavs' Lue proud of cousin Jayson Tatum, but won't go easy on him in East finals

Tyronn Lue is preparing for an East Finals matchup with a familiar opponent, in more ways than one.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are bracing for a conference finals against the Celtics for the second straight year, and this time Boston's leading scorer is rookie Jayson Tatum, who happens to be Lue's cousin on his grandfather's side.

Lue, 41, said Tatum is "playing exceptionally well for a rookie," but he doesn't plan on going easy on "Little Jay" in their series.

"It's tough because you want to see him do well, but not against you," the bench boss said, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "We just have to, just try to take him and be physical with him and not let him get easy baskets. He's going to score because he can post and he can put it on the floor, but we just have to try to take away his easy baskets as much as possible."

Tatum, 20, has scored at least 20 points in seven consecutive playoff games, which saw him not only break Larry Bird's franchise record but he also passed Kobe Bryant as the youngest player in league history to complete the feat. Altogether, he's averaging a team-high 18.8 points to go along with 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals in the postseason.

Lue praised how well his cousin has responded since being thrown into the fire on opening night after Gordon Hayward suffered a season-ending injury, and likened him to a recently retired Celtics legend.

"He's not scared, he's not afraid and he's always been that type of kid," Lue said. "He wants these type of moments and he's taking advantage of it. With Kyrie (Irving) and Gordon going down and him having a chance to play the minutes he's been playing, starting and playing in the playoffs the way he has, he's taken full advantage of it. But he's never been scared, he's never been afraid of the big moment. You can see that.

"... He's never in a rush, he plays patiently and reminds me a lot of Paul Pierce when Paul first came out. Being able to get to the free-throw line, great footwork, never gets sped up offensively so he's a really good player."

Tatum's father, Justin, and Lue are mutual friends with Larry Hughes, who spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Cavs. The younger Tatum sent an infamous tweet six years ago asking LeBron James for a follow.

James has yet to comply, but maybe he will after matching up against Tatum in the conference finals. Game 1 tips off Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.