Jayson Tatum: How Important Will His Offense Be?

Jayson Tatum’s offense is going to be a major factor all season long

The Boston Celtics brought in two of the most special offensive players in the NBA this offseason. the trio of Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford will give the starting unit more than enough offense to play at their highest level.

Even if it is true that the starting unit will not need much of an offensive boost from the other two positions, the scoring depth has to be a concern right now.

Marcus Smart still cannot be trusted as a shooter, Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown have been inconsistent at best on that end.

Aron Baynes offers nothing dynamic on that end, and we will have to wait and see the results of his trial before anything can be expected from Marcus Morris.

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The collection of young bigs have potential. Guerschon Yabusele, Semi Ojeleye and Daniel Theis will all try to space the floor, but they are far from offensive powerhouses, and they cannot be expected to carry anything on that end.

As the depth goes further down there still is not much offensive promise. Abel Nader can hold his own, but that is about as far as he will get. Shane Larkin should not be expecting many minutes, and does nothing spectacular on that end.

Once you get past those top three players, there really is only one player the Celtics can trust on the offensive end right now, and that is 19 year old rookie Jayson Tatum.

Normally, rookies on a conference finals team will not have much of a role, but this is a special case with Tatum. It is almost impossible to get this caliber of a prospect while coming off a conference finals appearance, and rarely do we find players as NBA ready on offense as Tatum is.

Tatum will still have to earn his minutes the hard way on the defensive end, but his offense is going to be crucial to what this team wants to do.

We saw last year how bad things could get with no real option with Isaiah Thomas on the bench. Brad Stevens had to keep Smart on the bench to avoid that dire liability, and that was with multiple 40 percent three point shooters in Jonas Jerebko and Kelly Olynyk on the second unit.

There is a chance that some of these young bigs will emerge as great offensive weapons, but it is hard to have that a part of legitimate plans right now.

Until we see more out of these young players, Tatum is the primary option and only decent scoring option for the second unit. Tatum may not be running the offense, but the offense will be run for him. Stevens will want to get Tatum in his best spots, and the second unit will have to focus on making sure he is getting his open looks.

If Tatum is able to be an offensive star as a rookie, then that adds a lot more stability to the starting unit. If Tatum is not able to score at a good rate, then the second unit offense will be a liability all the time.

If that is the case, then Stevens will have to stagger the minutes of his top offensive players, making sure there is no unit that is getting abused all the time. This will not change the starting unit, but it will prevent those top three from playing as many minutes together.

If Tatum is not a top scorer right away, then Stevens will have to spend a lot of time moving around the rotation in order to ensure they are not giving up the kind of debilitating runs that came far too often last season.

The Celtics always look for balance, and the second unit has always been a part of Stevens’ success. With so much youth and uncertainty, there is the risk of having a rough second unit, at least for the start of the season, and that will prevent Stevens from settling into his best rotation.

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If, however, Tatum is able to carry the second unit offense, and make sure they always have a go to option, then Stevens will have the security to use his best players in the best and most important situations.

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