Most Boston Celtics fans will agree with you if you say that the only hope the team has of upsetting the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals’ #2-#7 matchup is if Jayson Tatum is the best player on the floor for either side.
With Brooklyn possessing three superstars who each put up at least 24 points per game and at least five assists per game each, that’s a tall task to ask of Tatum.
That said, it is far from impossible. In dropping 60 points in the greatest comeback victory of the C’s storied history in a regular season win against the San Antonio Spurs and 50 points in Boston’s NBA Play-in tournament victory over the Washington Wizards, Tatum has shown a knack for heroic scoring efforts that help his team win.
What’s stopping that from happening against the Nets tonight or on Sunday to prolong the series? Well, according to Nothin’ But Nets’ Aaron Notis, Kevin Durant and Nic Claxton are the only players capable of being such a roadblock to another historic scoring effort from Tatum to save the series:
"Tatum had to leave Game 2 after getting poked in the eye. Heading home, he’s going to want to drop 50. And he really could.The Nets need to make sure a lanky above-average defender is on Tatum at all times. Bruce Brown is great, but he’s just too short for Tatum’s fadeaways. Nic Claxton and Durant should stay on Tatum at all times."
It speaks volumes to Tatum’s scoring prowess that Bruce Brown–who is notorious for his bulldog-like defensive approach–isn’t someone Nets fans trust with such an assignment. At six-foot-eight, Tatum cannot be contained by any Brooklyn guard.
Instead, two seven-footers are the only line of defense that NBN trusts to stop the 2020 All-NBA Third Team hybrid forward.
Let’s hope that even the Brobdingnagian Brooklyn big man pair is no match for another scoring explosion from the Boston Celtics’ franchise pillar.