CelticsBlog Participant of the Week #19: Jayson Tatum

Final week was one thing of a rebound week for the Boston Celtics. On Monday, the Celtics closed out their back-to-back with their third additional time interval in two nights — in addition to their second loss. From there, although, they rebounded properly. Wednesday noticed them rating a much-needed blowout win over the Portland Path Blazers, and on Sunday, they kicked off a six-game highway journey with a shootout victory in opposition to the Atlanta Hawks. A pleasant little 2-1 week, resulting in some optimistic momentum.

Let’s get into our subject of candidates for Participant of the Week.

Honorable Mentions:

Rising as a little bit of a curiosity this previous week was Blake Griffin, who seems — not less than for the second — to have supplanted Grant Williams in Joe Mazzulla’s rotation. Griffin has carved a task for himself by doing the little issues; cliché although it might sound, he’s enjoying with effort and doing loads of the little issues. He’s a canny and keen passer and display screen, and areas the ground out to the three-point line. With Williams struggling and injured, he’s offered some beneficial minutes for this group over the previous few video games.

Elsewhere, Derrick White responded to his return to the beginning lineup with a few good video games, scoring 21 factors in opposition to Portland and 18 in opposition to Atlanta. Al Horford and Sam Hauser have continued to bomb away from deep, connecting on 14 mixed threes throughout the week. Malcolm Brogdon shined in opposition to Cleveland and Atlanta, however scuffled to the tune of a 2-of-13 evening in opposition to the Blazers.

In all, it is probably not essentially the most thrilling choose, however we’re again to the group’s prime canine for this week’s award.

CelticsBlog Participant of the Week #19: Jayson Tatum

2 GP, 32 PTS (55% FG, 46% 3PT), 11 REB, 4 AST, +34

An evening off gave the impression to be simply what the physician ordered for Jayson Tatum — maybe actually, approaching the second evening of a back-to-back after two additional time durations in opposition to the Knicks. It’s been powerful sledding for the Celtics’ celebrity because the All-Star Break. Throughout his previous six video games, he’s shot higher than 41% from the sector simply as soon as, within the win over Cleveland to start the month of March. He’s merely seemed gassed, and no matter the endless debate over “load administration” within the NBA, it’s exhausting to argue that Tatum — who perpetually ranks at or close to the highest of the league in minutes play — couldn’t profit from some relaxation.

After sitting out the Cavaliers sport, Tatum seemed significantly spry. In opposition to the Blazers and Hawks, he put collectively a pair of environment friendly 30+ level outings that resembled his early season, MVP-candidate type greater than his current struggles.

This Celtics group goes as Tatum does, and it’s not a coincidence that their roughest stretch of the season has come when he’s been in his worst type. Tatum is the form of participant who can step into just about any matchup and carry out like he’s the most effective participant on the ground, and when he’s finished that, the Celtics win. Within the playoffs final 12 months, he outdueled Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jimmy Butler en path to the NBA Finals. This week, it was Damian Lillard and Trae Younger who fell sufferer.

In opposition to Portland, Tatum guided the Celtics to a wire-to-wire win. After a high-octane offensive first quarter for each groups, the Blazers weren’t capable of sustain the remainder of the way in which. Whereas double-digit comebacks is probably not as uncommon as they as soon as had been — each fan within the league appears like their favourite group blows too many leads — it’s true that the Celtics have had points closing out video games at instances. For these two video games, not less than, they put these points behind them.

That begins with Tatum. In opposition to Portland, he scored all 14 of his second-half factors within the third quarter, slamming the lid shut on any hopes of a Blazers comeback and permitting the Celtics to empty the bench the remainder of the way in which. In opposition to Atlanta, it was the fourth quarter the place he went to work — he scored 11 factors within the body, all well timed buckets that fended off a Hawks surge and prevented them from drawing inside a single possession of the lead down the stretch.

Tatum’s three-point taking pictures stays a little bit of an enigma, holding regular at 35% for the second straight 12 months. That quantity clearly undersells his precise expertise stage as a shooter, however the quantity and issue of the pictures he takes preserve his percentages considerably deflated. There’s worth on this, because the heavy coverages he faces on a nightly foundation assist open up alternatives for his teammates — you need to defend him, as a result of there’s all the time the menace that he’ll drop half a dozen threes on you, as he did in opposition to Portland. Nonetheless, at his dimension and ability stage, he’s tremendously efficient within the mid-range and off of post-ups, and it appears like these parts could possibly be integrated a little bit bit extra inside the Boston offense.

Admittedly, given the time of this writing, the Celtics’ loss to Houston — the primary of the subsequent week’s slate of video games — places a little bit of a damper on his performances final week. The momentum feels a bit squandered after an 8-of-22 outing. That’s the way it goes with weekly awards, although, and final week, Jayson Tatum gave us a glimpse of the extent of play we’ve been anticipating from him for just a few weeks now. Hopefully, within the video games to return, he exhibits us that the Rockets sport was an aberration, and resumes that stage of efficiency that he confirmed in these video games.

The top of the season attracts ever nearer because the Celtics proceed by the month of March. This week, they’ll face a four-game slate, all on the highway. The week started with Monday’s setback loss to the Houston Rockets. On Wednesday, they’ll battle the Minnesota Timberwolves. After that, they’ll deal with one other back-to-back in opposition to the Path Blazers and Jazz on Friday and Saturday. We’ll be again this time subsequent week to interrupt down the motion and anoint our twentieth Participant of the Week this season.