Jayson Tatum was a star as we entered the season and even through his struggles early in the season he was still a star. However, Tatum has taken another leap, his passing is better than it ever has been, his shooting numbers are back to where they were at the end of last season, and the Celtics are smoking everyone. How good is Tatum, what has his career looked like to this point, how much a leap did he take, and how far can he take the Celtics?
After being drafted 3rd overall in 2017 by a Celtics team that had just went to the East Finals, entering his rookie season, people were unsure of what kind of role Tatum would take on. The Celtics had just signed Gordon Hayward and traded for Kyrie Irving, they were supposed to compete for a championship. Then disaster struck a whole 5 minutes into the season, as Hayward broke his leg and it looked like everything was crumbling for the Celtics. However, then they went on a 16 game winning streak after an 0-2 start and looked like they could compete even without Hayward. Then in March, Kyrie Irving was lost for the season due to knee surgery. Boston had lost their best 2 players, their 2 big offseason additions, and was left for all but dead. However, then something funny happened, their young guys bought in, they were the 2nd seed after all and they believed they were good enough to make a run. Led by Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, and Al Horford, Boston defeated the Bucks in round 1, in a 7 game slugfest where the home team won every game. Then came the Philadelphia 76ers, they were led by Joel Embiid and rookie of the year winner Ben Simmons, they were the sweethearts of the league and everyone was picking them. Boston crushed them in game 1, 117-101, and people raised an eyebrow, maybe the Celtics were good enough. In game 2 Philly took a 51-30 lead in the 2nd quarter, Boston ended the quarter on a 21-5 run and went into the locker room down 5. They would go on to win the game and take a 2-0 series lead. In Philly they would win a tough game 3 in overtime before losing game 4 as the series would shift back to Boston. Tatum would score 25 points and would guide the Celtics to the East Finals, where they would play LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Game 1 was not close, Boston smoked Cleveland 108-83 and continued to show they were legit. After Boston won game 2 the series would shift back to Cleveland for game 3 in a game that was never close and the Cavs cut the Boston lead to 2-1. Boston battled in game 4 after being crushed in the first quarter but it was not enough as the series was tied at 2. After the teams would split the next 2, game 7 would not go the Celtics way as Tatum scored 24 and dunked all over LeBron but it was not enough as the Cavs would go to the Finals and Boston would look ahead to 2018-19.
The Celtics were supposed to win the East in 2018-19, they were getting Kyrie and Hayward back and LeBron had signed with the Lakers. The season was a disaster. No one could figure out their role with Kyrie and Gordon coming back, Tatum would not take the leap people expected him to, and they would flame out in the second round against the Bucks in embarrassing fashion. That summer they hit reset, out when Irving, Rozier, Horford, and Marcus Morris, and in came Kemba Walker. In 2019-20 Jayson Tatum let everyone know he had arrived and took a big leap. He averaged 23.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game en route to his first All-Star and All-NBA selections. The Celtics would get the 3 seed and would take on the Philadelphia 76ers in round 1. In game 1, Gordon Hayward sprained his ankle, which would keep him out for a while, in a Celtics win. The Celtics would go on to sweep the 76ers and take on the Toronto Raptors in the second round. After smoking Toronto in game 1, the Celtics would go on to win game 2 behind 34 points by Tatum and taking a 2-0 series lead. In game 3 the Celtics would take a 2 point lead with just seconds remaining and looked like they were in the driver's seat to take a commanding 3-0 series lead to go back to the Eastern Conference Finals, however, there was a defensive breakdown and OG Anunoby would hit a buzzer beating 3 to get the Raptors a win and make it a series. After the Raptors won game 4, the Celtics would bounce back and take a 3-2 series lead. Game 6 was a double OT grind that the Celtics would come up on the losing end in, setting up a game 7. In a series where everything was hard, it became that much harder in game 7. Jayson Tatum put the Celtics on his back putting up a statline of 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists leading the Celtics to a win and a trip back to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The East Finals were tough for the Celtics, they were bad throughout the series, blowing leads in games 1, 2, and 4, all of which ended up in losses, Tatum was rejected on a dunk attempt by Bam Adebayo to seal up game 1. Boston would take games 3 and 5 but would run out of gas in game 6, and fall in the East Finals in 6 games to a Miami Heat team I still feel to this day they were better then. That offseason, Tatum signed a 5 year max extension and showed a commitment to Boston. The 2021 season was a disaster for the Celtics. After Tatum hit a game winning 3 pointer over the eventual Finals MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Celtics season was up and down all season but mostly down. Tatum had another leap and had yet another incredible season in which he averaged 26.4 points and 7.4 rebounds. He had monster games throughout the season, including a 60 point game vs the Spurs and a 53 point game vs the Timberwolves. In the postseason, Tatum was incredible, he started with a 50 point game in the play-in against the Wizards and then in game 3 in the first round on ABC against the Brooklyn Nets who had Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving, he scored another 50 points, out dueling the Nets Big 3 in a Celtics win, their only of the series. It did not end well as the Celtics were the 7th seed, finished the season .500, and were eliminated in the first round.
The 2021-22 season did not start well for the Celtics, they started 18-21 blowing a bunch of leads. It all came to a head when the Celtics blew a 25 point lead in Madison Square Garden against the Knicks in a game that was nationally televised on TNT, that was capped off with a RJ Barrett buzzer beater. It was a gut check for Boston and after the loss Tatum (who played really well with 36 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds) said, “I think early on, probably my rookie year, I thought that was just normal. Winning all those games, winning games in the playoffs. Probably taking it for granted a little bit. Enjoy those moments. Stuff like this happens and I think it makes you appreciate times like that even more. Just knowing how hard it is to win in this league.” The season has totally turned for both Boston and Tatum. Tatum, who made his 3rd straight All-Star game, passing has taken strides that some could only dream of a few years ago. He also had a 54 point performance against the Nets out dueling Irving and Durant in a Celtics win. For the Celtics the defense is the reason they have gone to the next level and have turned the 18-21 start into a record of 46-28 and hopes to win a championship.
There have been some really high highs for Jayson Tatum in his young career and some really low lows. However, he has always come through for his team, as he has played in 359 games to this point in his young career (all of them being starts) and as people say sometimes the best ability is availability. The Celtics are really good and they will go as far as Tatum will take them.
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