Jayson Tatum sized up Joel Embiid, then crossed the 7-footer low to blow by and bank a fadeaway mid-ranger to put the finishing touches on a season-opening 105-87 win over the Sixers. For the 20-year-old, it was just one of his best moments of the night. He scored 23 points on 17 shots to go along with nine rebounds. He was the best non-Ben Simmons player of the game.
Here’s why Jayson Tatum might already be the Celtics’ MVP
The 20-year-old is blossoming earlier than expected.
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The rest of the big-money Celtics (Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and Gordon Hayward) shot the ball really poorly and it didn’t even matter. Irving started 0-of-8, and the trio combined to go 10-of-33 for 26 points.
This was Tatum’s night — a claim that may happen more frequently than we’d imagined. Tatum’s rise as one of the Celtics’ leading scorers was inevitable some time down the road. But what if he’s already there now?
Tatum’s one-on-one moves are elite
Tatum’s scoring talent isn’t merely a product of Brad Stevens’ genius. For a 6’8 second-year player, his handles are tight and he’s really good at changing speeds.
To close out the second quarter, Irving deferred to Tatum with the shot clock ticking. Matched against Robert Covington, an All-NBA defender, Tatum drove to his weak side hard, then stopped dead in his tracks to send his opponent flopping to the ground. This type of work with trainer Drew Hanlen shows every time we’ve seen Tatum play in his young career, and it’s what sets him apart from the league’s other budding stars.
Tatum’s ability to score in space off the dribble makes him not only one of the most exciting, but also one of the most reliable scorers on his team. Guard-forwards his size are taking the league by storm, and Tatum is next in line.
Tatum is thriving with so many threats around him
The Celtics’ wing plays around maybe the most creative one-on-one scorer in the game in Irving, a stretch big in Horford, a slasher in Hayward and a plethora of versatile pieces that demand attention. That leaves looks for Duke product plentiful as willing teammates give up mediocre looks for better Tatum ones. It also means defenses have an abundance of shooters to cover on drives, and if the unit doesn’t communicate, Tatum will make them pay.
Tatum is playing in one of the best offenses for a scorer of his talents, and if he continues to be looked at as a less-than to his teams other stars, he’ll eclipse the 20 points per game mark.
Is All-Star Jayson Tatum enough to beat the Warriors?
It’s been one game can we slow down please?
The easy answer is no, nothing matters. But three athletic wings (Tatum, Hayward and Jaylen Brown), the perennial Warrior-killer Irving, the most skilled big on a contender Golden State’s faced in Horford and more should pose more of a threat than the Cavs a year ago. And if Kevin Durant has to tag Tatum all game, the series’ dynamic changes entirely.
But also it’s October, so grab your pumpkin-spiced thing and let’s table this for May.
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