Getty Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Nick Wright is known for his egregious takes about the Boston Celtics and has been for some time.
No matter how well the Celtics are playing, or how much one of their players has improved, Wright will always approach the subject with a shock and awe strategy. However, it seems that even the staunchest of critics can’t deny the growth of Jayson Tatum this season, especially after the first three games of Boston’s post-season.
On a recent episode of First Things First, Wright sounded off about Tatum’s current level of play, noting that he is fast becoming a superstar.
“Jayson Tatum has been utterly brilliant. Every single checkmark you need to become a superstar, he’s either done or is in the process of doing. I know he scored 39 (in game three on April 23), but that isn’t shocking. With this level of defense, even the biggest Jayson Tatum fans did not see this two-way performance coming. So, where I have definitely adjusted on Tatum, is I had in a tier alongside Donovan (Mitchell), Trae (Young), Zion (Williamson), and Jimmy Butler – but he’s better than those guys,” Wright said.
Chris Broussard Heaps Praise on Tatum
Chris Broussard regularly co-hosts the First Things First show with Wright, so is no stranger to conversations surrounding the Celtics and their star players. However, following Wright’s praise of Tatum, Broussard got in on the action and shared his opinion.
Jayson Tatum has guarded 251 possessions in the Nets series, and has held opponents to 26 points on 13/35 shooting, with 15 forced TOVs, 3 blocks, and 7 steals.
He is also averaging 30/5/8,while shooting over 50% in 4th quarters. The Celtics are also up 3-0.
Two-Way Superstar.
“He’s outplaying Kevin Durant decisively, it’s not even close. It’s not just the offense – he’s scored more, assisted more – he’s been better than Durant offensively through the three quarters and through the fourth quarter in the clutch. But it’s the defense that’s been outstanding.
And we talk about bags, like KD and Kyrie (Irving) have such deep bags, well, Jayson Tatum has a bag too. His handle is terrific, he can shoot the three, he can hit the mid-range, and he can go all the way to the basket and dunk on you. And he has experience…Tatum, even though he’s only 24, has been to the conference finals twice,” Broussard said as he sounded off about Tatum’s development into a borderline superstar.
Tatum Has Been the Best Player on the Floor
Throughout the Celtics series against the Brooklyn Nets, Tatum has unquestionably been the best player on the court. Throughout the first three games of the series, the Celtics star has proven that he’s capable of leading an offense as both a scorer and facilitator while also shutting down arguably the greatest player on the planet in Kevin Durant.
Averaging 43.7 minutes of play, Tatum is dropping 29.7 points, eight assists, and grabbing five boards per night, as he continues to lead the Celtics towards the second round of the playoffs. Of course, Boston came into this series as minor favorites thanks to their elite defense, but now the team sits on the precipice of a four-game sweep, and Tatum is earning plaudits from around the world for his level of play.
Jayson “two-way superstar” Tatum defending KD (from Games 1 and 2):
While Tatum’s offensive developments have clearly raised both his and the Celtics’ ceiling, it’s his defense on some of the world’s best scorers that have made people sit up and take notice.
Sure, Tatum has been a viable off-ball defender for several seasons at this point, but his growth as a point-of-attack defender is a noticeable development, one that will have people expecting an All-NBA defensive team next season, should the St. Louis native sustain this growth.
The Celtics will play the Nets in game four of the playoffs on Monday, April 25, as they look to close out the series at the Barclays Center.