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Jayson Tatum’s defense has been more impressive than his offense

By Joshua Bateman

BOSTON, MA - MAY 23: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives to the basket against Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics in the first half during Game Five of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MAY 23: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives to the basket against Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics in the first half during Game Five of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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For as great as Jayson Tatum’s offense has been, his defense has been more impressive against the Cavaliers

Jayson Tatum has been the most impressive and arguably the most important player for the Boston Celtics against the Cleveland Cavaliers. His two way consistency has been unmatched, as he continues to make more positive plays on both ends than anyone else on the roster.

The oddest part might be that Tatum’s raw shooting throughout this entire postseason has been well below his season averages. In the regular season, he set a seemingly impossible standard for efficiency and he continues to do more and more as a play maker.

Against the Cavaliers, his splits of 47 percent overall and 35 percent from three is better than you would expect from any rookie, but is somehow underwhelming based on what he did during the regular season.

He is being asked to do different things, but Tatum has been so good that the Celtics really do expect this of him on offense. What he is doing on defense, however, is unprecedented by any standard for a player his age that had all kinds of defensive question marks out of college.

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He’s been chasing history with his consistent scoring and offensive impact, but his performance on the defensive end has been the most impressive part of his game, especially against the Cavaliers.

Everyone could quickly tell that Tatum has the skill, polish and intelligence to be phenomenal on offense, but a smaller frame made his defense a lot more questionable. In the regular season, he made it clear that he was not going to be a liability. People have already seen how underrated his athleticism was coming out of college. What he is doing on defense right now, however, is making it clear that his athleticism was not just underrated, but truly elite.

Brad Stevens has been able to use Tatum’s length, and has never been a matchup that anyone can exploit. His versatility has been evident, and he has avoided making mistakes all year long. The strength is the most unexpected part, because he can already hold his own, while knowing he is going to develop his frame for multiple years.

Now, when he is under the most pressure and facing an impossible task of trying to defend LeBron James, he is emerging as a play maker on defense, which is more impressive than anything he has shown on offense in this series.

Tatum has been able to thoroughly shut down the weaker wings on the Cavaliers. Individually, there is nothing Kyle Korver or J.R Smith have been able to attack with Tatum. He has been able to help disrupt passing lanes, and make life more difficult for anyone on the court.

Somehow, he has also been able to hold his own defending James individually. Game five was easily he most impressive, because he had the strength to get fronting position on James, and the length to make sure they could not get it to him over the top.

Tatum is not the best defender on this team, but he is continuing to show how many different ways he can be used. He still has his momentary lapses and has work to do as an individual defender. That being said, he is so much further ahead than any rookie is supposed to be, especially a rookie that was expected to be an offensive standout and defensive liability.

Tatum has absolutely transformed the way both the Celtics and opponents are going to look at him. Not only do you have to game plan for what Tatum can do on offense because his versatility on defense is going to cause tremendous problems for any opponent.

Next: Tatum becoming the most reliable player

Tatum will not back down from any challenge on defense, and when you think about how he has been able to defend the best player in the world on the biggest stage he will ever be on, that is the most impressive part of Tatum’s historic rookie season.

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