Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum welcoming role as primary scorer

Jayson Tatum has performed superbly while acting as the main offensive option on the Celtics in Kyrie Irving’s absence.

When the Boston Celtics began the season with the Big Three of Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford intact, the understanding was that Jayson Tatum would fill a role on the supporting cast similar to what Jaylen Brown experienced towards the end of his rookie campaign in 2016-17.

Then, a gruesome ankle injury in quarter No. 1 of the season to Hayward pulled Tatum into the starting lineup. Now, after the flaring up of Irving’s knee, the loss of Brown to a lingering concussion and offensive ineptitude from Horford, Tatum has been thrust into the spotlight as the Celtics primary weapon on offense.

Just as rookie counterparts Donovan Mitchell and Dennis Smith have done on their respective teams, Tatum has been impressive playing the role of showstopper for Boston.

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For evidence, look no further than Tatum’s showing in Tuesday night’s comeback win over the Thunder. The Duke product was scintillating, scoring 23 points for the second game in a row while hitting eight of his 12 shots from the field and three of his six three-point attempts.

He was solid at the free throw line, canning all four of his attempts, his first time making each of his free throw chances since a March 5th win over the Bulls. Additionally, he boosted the Celtics to a 52-44 advantage on the glass with 11 rebounds. This rebounding effort marked his first time with double-digit boards since January 21 but the seventh consecutive game in which he has garnered at least five.

Unlike Brown, who can be passive at times offensively, Tatum has displayed his willingness to be the focal point of the Celtics offense, someone who can create opportunities for himself off of the dribble each possession. Against the Thunder, he showed this aggressiveness from the outset, beginning the game by driving past NBA MVP Russell Westbrook at the top of the key before rising up for a one-handed flush less than five minutes in.

Midway through the second period, Tatum came off a dribble handoff on the right wing that would normally be given to Irving before shaking Corey Brewer off his back and escaping past a helping Steven Adams to sky for another right-handed slam.

At the start of the third quarter, Tatum exposed a mismatch just like any reliable offensive weapon should. With Adams guarding him one-on-one on the right wing, Tatum shook him with a right-handed hesitation dribble. After gliding to the right, Tatum leaped into the air, ducked under the helping arm of Carmelo Anthony and double-clutched his way to a layup to give the Celtics a one-point lead.

With the Celtics in desperate need of a bucket down 87-82 with three minutes left in the fourth, Tatum showed off the handles that separated him from the rest of his draft class. He came off a handoff from Greg Monroe at the top of the key, this time headed to his right. With Brewer on his heels yet again, Tatum dribbled inside the three-point line before blending him with a nasty through the legs stepback crossover straight out of the pages of the Kyrie Irving Manual.

Brewer went sliding off balance and Tatum canned the three to give Boston its first points in four minutes.

Take out an eight-point game in a win over the Orlando last Friday night and Tatum is averaging 21.0 points per game since March 11. What has made his surge all the more impressive is that just weeks ago we were deeming Tatum in danger of succumbing to the rookie wall.

In January, the rookie shot just 41.9 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from three-point range after shooting 52.9 percent and 45.1 percent, respectively, in December. In February, his three-point rate improved to 39.1 percent, but his field goal percentage was still mediocre at 42.4 percent.

This month, however, Tatum’s shooting percentage has risen to 49.5 percent despite him taking 1.2 more shot attempts per game. He is hitting above 40 percent of his three-pointers while taking 1.9 more three-pointers per night this month compared to last, and he has hit five of his last nine three-point attempts.

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Currently, Tatum is tied with Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki for eighth in the NBA in three-point percentage with a 42.9 percent success rate from deep, and he will continue to pace the Celtics to wins if he remains consistent offensively.