Is Jayson Tatum a True Superstar?

Jayson Tatum has been an overachiever so far throughout the brief course of his evolving career. He has taken the Boston Celtics to now, 3 Eastern Conference Finals in only 5 years. But the question remains unanswered, can he bring banner 18 to Beantown? Is Jayson Tatum the leader that can stay composed in moments of adversity? Or will he come up short once again, just as he did in Game 3 of this year’s ECF.

Tatum posted only 10 points on 3-14 from the field. Now is he the next Kobe Bryant? No, he has not yet become the superstar that we all know he can become. But what he needs to be, is a Jayson Tatum that is not afraid of attacking and kicking if he draws the double team. He must become a player that is confident both in himself and in his teammates. Something that the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks must begin to fear. We have seen a confident Tatum easily defeat Kevin Durant and the Nets in 4 games throughout this playoff run. In the next series, we saw the resilience of Boston and the leadership it wields by being able to rally back in TD Garden in Game 7 of the Milwaukee Bucks series.

Some may compare this Celtics squad to a young 2008 Boston Celtics team that featured Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. The comparisons are not too far off with the other key pieces of Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart pairing with Tatum at the helm. The Miami Heat are still facing and must defeat the #1 ranked defense in the NBA, and a team that is capable of outscoring and outshooting any team that is willing to duel.

The Boston Celtics have done an excellent job of keeping Bam Adebayo at bay, through the consistent defense from Robert Williams and Al Horford. There still is a chance that Bam can turn this series around, especially with Rob Williams possibly needing time off for his inflamed and sore knees. To kickoff, the series we have seen a hobbled Marcus Smart as well as an injured Kyle Lowry for the Heat. The cause of all these injuries has been due to the ferocious physicality and tremendous hustle of both teams, creating the perfect recipe for injuries. We may see an outcome in this series, that is reflected by the injuries and missing time from both teams' key players. Another problem caused by all the monstrous physicality and elite flopping is the amount of fouls being called on both teams. Sometimes it feels as though the refs wait until the basket goes in or not, to determine whether or not a foul should be called. Something that smells oddly suspicious, when this series has shown us that large leads can be cut down easily with help getting to the charity striped repeatedly, possibly in favor of forcing a highly rated Game 7 through closer controlled outcomes and scores.

Last night, Jayson Tatum stepped up scoring 31 points in a crucial game 4 at home before going back to Miami. On the downside, Tatum shot only 1-7 from three-point land, a feat that he accomplished in game 3, and a possible omen of the games to come. Only time will tell if the Celtics can continue to defend this red-hot Miami team and if they can finally start playing together consistently. In these playoffs, Iso ball has not always been the greatest game plan to get Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown going. Instead, Head Coach Ime Udoka has been using pick and roll opportunities to create several open looks for the Celtics. And once shots start to fall for the two stars, they quickly start to feel the rhythm which is key for their isolation basketball to become effective. This is evident as we have seen quarters from both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum where they have been seemingly unstoppable and others where it appears that they couldn’t even cross half-court due to Miami’s harassing defense. These next 12 quarters will determine whether or not we will see the return of the Jay’s, a nickname given to the two teammates that mesh so well together that makes it seem as if they are both the best player on the court. We could see a whole new look Celtics next season, but I think the Jays will have something to say about that.

Celtics in 6.