Boston Celtics: Can Jayson Tatum lead these Cs to banner #18?

Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum has become what we all hoped he would be. Now, in his fourth season, he has amassed 2 All-Star appearances, an All-NBA 3rd team selection, and has a significant amount of playoff experience.

So much playoff experience, that he has actually played more playoff games than 29 out of the 30 NBA teams–outside of GSW–since he entered the league. He has been the best player on two separate eastern conference finals teams, looking like he truly belongs.

In his rookie season, New acquisitions Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving both missed the playoff stretch. This practically wrote Boston off to be a post-season contender, but Tatum would have something to say about that.

Over the run, the Cs rookie averaged 18.5 points per game–second to Jaylen Brown’s 20–and really stepped up when it mattered. In-game 7 of the eastern conference finals, Jayson Tatum erupted for 24 points on over 50% from the field.

This included the famous dunk on LeBron James, followed by a confident chest-bump to James, proving he was here to compete. And compete he did, and although the Celtics fell short, it was hardly in fault to Tatum. Jaylen Brown, Marcus Morris, Marcus Smart, and Terry Rozier combined for just 36 points on 13-56 shooting.

If even just one of them could have had an average night, Boston could have been eastern conference champs. Sadly, they didn’t, and Boston fell short. But Cs fans everywhere were happy…

They had found their new franchise duo.

Fast forward past all of the drama that came with the 2018 season, and the Boston Celtics were poised for another deep playoff run. Tatum had a career year after a not-so-hot year two. He posted averages of 23 points and 7 rebounds on over 40% from beyond the arc. They started the playoffs facing the Ben Simmons-less 76ers and made light work of them in a sweep, as expected. However, the next round is where Tatum showed the true leap to superstardom.

Boston Celtics Jayson Tatum cements himself as a playoff-performer:

In a series that went seven games, the 21-year-old star was by far the best player on the court, night-in-night-out. He averaged 24/10/5 for the series including a game 7 masterclass showing, leading both teams in points, rebounds, and assists–just the third player in league history to do so in a game 7. He had now led Boston to its 3rd eastern conference finals in the last four years and his second appearance in 3 years.

Tatum was still spectacular in the Miami series but was eventually bested by a new face, seemingly every night. One night it was Herro, scoring 37 on 80% from the field. The next night it was a game-saving block by Adebayo, then Dragic pouring in 29. It was a perfect storm for Miami, and Boston was straight-up outplayed, Jayson Tatum included.

What has this season meant for the Boston Celtics, and Jayson Tatum in specific?

But now getting to this season, which has been, by all means, a massive disappointment. We all knew Hayward was a great player, but with his lack of consistent health, who would’ve thought we’d be missing him this much? The team lacks playmaking, which Hayward brought, the team lacks creation outside of the Jays, which Hayward brought.

Tatum has improved, there is no doubt about it…but is it as much as Cs fans had hoped for? We all thought this would be the year Tatum ascended to the top 10, the true upper-echelon of the NBA, but sadly to say, it hasn’t been that year. Nearly 50 games in–70% through the season–the Cs sit below .500 at 24-25. They sit behind the team Hayward departed to, the Charlotte Hornets, who currently hold the four seed. They also sit behind the New York Knicks, and the Atlanta Hawks, a statement most would have laughed at if you told them 5-months-ago.

Tatum himself has been good, even great by some standards, averaging 25 points, seven rebounds, and career-high four-and-a-half assists per night. Using true shooting percentage, he has been slightly less efficient this year as opposed to last–by 1%. However, the numbers are a bit misleading, and maybe he has taken that jump.

As we know, Tatum was diagnosed with COVID-19 and didn’t play basketball for roughly two weeks. Once he came back, he was complaining of shortness of breath, and it was in the most compact stretch of the season. When he returned, they played 20 games in 36 days, including 5 back-to-backs, and playing over 36 minutes a night. During this stretch, he averaged just 23 points per game, on 52% true shooting–5% below league average.

However, he has/had been a completely different player both before he got COVID-19, and now post-All-Star break. During those games, he posts 26/7/4 averages on 50/41/89 shooting splits, some of the most efficient in the league. It is clear that, when healthy, Tatum has taken another jump from his All-Star/All-NBA season last year. But, getting to the question which truly decides if the last 8+ years has been for nothing…

Can Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum lead this team to a championship?

My answer is yes. People question Tatum’s will to win, his drive, and his love for the game. Some people asked the same of Kawhi Leonard. Both are very mellow, unforthcoming players, who don’t show much emotion. Tatum has been to the second-highest stage twice now, elevating his play come playoff time. He clearly wants to win, and he has what it takes.

Going solely off play type, Tatum has it all. He is a two-way, long wing, with the ability to score effectively from all three levels. Since last year’s playoff run, his playmaking has drastically improved as well.

Contrary to popular belief, Tatum is probably the second-best playmaker on the squad outside of Smart.

He has excellent court vision, is able to thread the needle on many passes, and has some of the best gravity in the NBA. In fact, according to BBall Index’s player tracking statistics, Jayson Tatum has the 3rd-best scoring gravity in the NBA and the 9th-best playmaker rating among starting forwards.

Many have questioned Tatum’s willingness to pass, especially just the other night versus the Mavericks, when Jayson Tatum dribbled the entire shot-clock out by himself, just to put up an off-balance floater. Some wonder if Brad Stevens is not hard enough on Tatum when he does such things.

He can try to do too much sometimes but let’s not let that take away from his improvement on a large scale. Over 70% of Tatum’s touches are six seconds or less, he’s not the black-hole some Cs fans try to paint him as.

Yes, the 4th-year-pro still settles for shots sometimes, which can be frustrating, especially regarding how good of a finisher he is. He shoots 70.7% from 0-3 feet, by comparison, Zion shoots 70.0%, and Ben Simmons shoots just 67%. He should be taking more layups, no doubt about it, but he is one of the best pull-up shooters in the entire NBA, shooting 45% on pull-up 3s since the break. With more time will come better decision-making and in turn better efficiency.

The rush from some Boston Celtics fans, including Boston-sports radio, to paint Tatum as the problem with the team, as a player that can never reach the highest level, is quite appalling. The kid just entered his 4th season, and already has more playoff experience than most guys dream of, the sky is the limit, both with Tatum and Brown.

This team should be better, and some blame should fall on the Jays shoulders, being the leaders of the team, however, let’s not write them off just yet…

Their best basketball is yet to come.