Brad Stevens Sees More Than Offense in Jayson Tatum

Jayson Tatum will be known for his offense, but Brad Stevens is paying more attention to his defense

A lot of people did not believe the Boston Celtics when they claimed to have picked their best prospect with the third overall pick. It was less of a condemnation of Jayson Tatum, and more of a statement of how universally regarded Markelle Fultz has been.

That being said, there is one opinion about Tatum that matters and that is the head coach, Brad Stevens. We have already seen the entire organization back the decision to take him, and now Stevens is revealing a bit more as to why he needs to be seriously considered for rookie of the year.

Everyone can see that Tatum is one of the most polished scorers to come out of college in a long time. He will fit in just fine with an offensive system that generates open looks on all three levels, and Tatum might already be one of the best isolation scorers on the team.

Now, Stevens is starting to talk about Tatum’s defense, something very few thought could be a positive in his rookie season. Via Mass Live, here is what Stevens recently had to say about Tatum’s defense:

"I thought he did a good job of keeping guys in front. I thought he did a good job of using his length and guarding a number of different positions. … Offensive stuff is going to come easy for him. Maybe not easy, but he has a natural scoring ability. (In Summer League) I wanted to see how he would pick up what we are trying to do defensively — how his length would impact others, how he would pick up the off-the-ball schemes — and I thought he did a pretty good job"

The Celtics may have seen some long term defensive potential in Tatum, but for Stevens to already see these positives in a 19 year old rookie is quite surprising.

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At this point, no one should be expecting more than not being a liability on the court. The Celtics know they can use his offense, but the moment he starts holding the team back on defense is exactly when his minutes will start to drop.

From what Stevens is saying here, it appears as though Tatum may not have much of a transition period, at least not as much as many expected. Stevens is seeing way that Tatum can be used on defense, and with his dedication and work ethic, it might be time to start getting even more excited about the highest touted prospect drafted in the Stevens era.

In fact, this could even boost his slim chances a starting next to Thomas. The Celtics know that he has the offense to play beside Thomas, but they cannot afford a defensive liability in that spot. If Stevens finds ways for Tatum’s length to make up for Thomas’ size, then he could slowly build a legitimate case to be a starter at some point in his rookie season.

This is just the first indication, but things continue to come together for Tatum. Everything has to be proven on the court in the NBA, but it is impossible for fans to not get excited hearing Stevens talk like this, especially considering how much weight he puts on defense.

This probably should not have come at too much of a surprise. The Celtics have prioritized defense throughout the rebuild. It appeared as though they went for pure offense with Tatum, but it may not have been that simple.

The Celtics are looking for two way versatility, and everything we see and hear from Tatum indicates that he is going to have tremendous two way potential.

Next: Boston Celtics Scoring Leader: Thomas or Tatum?

Tatum surely still has a long ways to go before he can be considered an NBA ready defender, but if he is already surprising Stevens with his ability then we could be in line for a special rookie season from Tatum.

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