Not To Overreact, But Jayson Tatum Is Currently Having One Of The Best Seasons Of His Highly Decorated Career
Mercedes Oliver. Getty Images.As I said following the Celts NBA Cup opener, I understand this is a tournament and an idea that people love to shit on. They love to say it's stupid and that it doesn't matter and nobody should care etc.
That's fine for some if that's how they choose to live. But I will say it again. You know what's also cool? Giving a shit. Caring about something. Not trying to act too cool for school just because something new was created. As long as this idea is a thing, then I want it. I want the Cup. I respect the Cup. If there's something up for grabs to win, then I would like my favorite basketball team to win it. Pretty simple stuff.
But it's not about whether or not you or I #RespectTheCup. We can only do so much. The question is more, would the players respect the Cup? I have to be honest, while they won their opener, the Celts did not close that game like a team that respects one very important aspect of the Cup, which is point differential. If you have the opportunity to bury teams, then you must send them 6ft under and then some. Every basket matters, and if you want to win the Cup, then you need to bring the thunder for a full 48 minutes regardless of what the score is. You have to trick your mind that a 25 point lead should be a 30 point lead. And then once it's 30, get that bitch up to the 40s. Show no mercy.
Said another way, just do exactly what we saw happen in the Celts second Cup game against the Hornets. THAT is how you respect the Cup. There were some final second Hornets' layups which I didn't love, but I'll take a +39 point differential. Much, much better than the +14 or whatever that Bulls game ended at because the deep bench wasn't respecting the Cup enough down the stretch.
As it stands now, nobody is respecting the Cup more than our beloved Boston Celtics. Not only are they 1 of 3 teams that are 2-0, but they also own the best point differential (+53) in the entire NBA
Shoutout Bulls and Hornets, love you guys! Couldn't have done it without you and your basketball futility. Not only is it important to be stacking these wins against bad teams in terms of the normal standings, but if you have dreams of advancing in the Cup you have to win and you have to win big. It's sort of like Summer League in that respect. It's not just about winning, it's about beating the absolute piss out of your opponent.
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The good news is that very thing is one of the foundations of Mazzulla Ball. Nobody blows doors off their opponents like Mazzulla Ball. May I remind you, it holds the NBA record for 25 point wins, 30 point wins, and 50 point wins. When that shit is hitting on all cylinders and the Celts aren't shooting 17% from deep? Good fucking luck.
Since 2022-23 when Mazzulla Ball first arrived, the Celts are 207-45 (.821) when they make at least 15 3PM (they made 24 in this game). When they get rolling, things usually end in 39 point blowouts, especially if you're a dogshit team who struggles on both ends of the floor (no offense Hornets).
Look, is it the toughest schedule in the world to play the Bucks and Hornets in these last two games? Of course not. But you're doing that thing again where you expect me to give a fuck. I care about stacking wins and this team finding their rhythm. That's it.
And frankly, with the way they often put us through absolute hell over the course of 2.5 hours, I also think we all deserved an easy blowout win with no collapse in sight. Good to know they can still do it. Let's dive in.
The Good
- Not to be overly dramatic, but the entire future of the Boston Celtics pretty much relies on Jayson Tatum being the Jayson Tatum we saw before the injury, and then some. Not only could he get back to that level, but could he also reach even higher levels? Could he get even better? Brad Stevens put all his chips on the bet that he could. Simple as that.
How are things going? Oh I don't know. Let's have a look
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Giphy Images.I always found it very confusing why after seeing Tatum's 21/10/5 in the regular season and 23/11/7 with a 60% TS% in the playoffs, that people still tried to pretend like Tatum wasn't already back at his 1st Team All NBA level. Then, after a full offseason they tried to suggest he was going to be worse? As if that made any goddamn sense?
In reality, we may be getting the best version. Heading into the season, I was expecting Tatum to max out at around 6.5-7.0 assists a night, which would have been a career high. To see him off to this type of start of 8.0 a game? That's over 2 full assists higher than his previous career high. I'd remind you that came in a season in which Tatum averaged 26.8/8.7.6.0 and finished 4th in MVP and made 1st Team All NBA
This year? 27.9/6.3/8.0.
So far, we're witnessing the 2nd highest scoring average of Tatum's career to go along with the career best playmaking jump. But do you want to know what I might love more than both of those things?
Tatum's 51% FTAr
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At no point in Jayson Tatum's career have we seen him come anywhere CLOSE to what's currently happening at the FT line. His previous career high FTAr was just 39.9%, and that came in 2022-23 (he averaged 30 a game). The next two years? 34% and 30%.
So for that to jump to 51%????? That's very significant. Usually, Tatum lives around 6-7 FTA a night. To start this season, that number is 10.0. This jump isn't even due to flopping or any of that either. He's getting contact. He's seeking it out and going strong while not avoiding the physicality. In return, he's getting a free 8-10 points a night. It's so beautiful, I could cry. It's like he finally obtained the last Infinity Stone for his game and look at what is happening.
If this entire season and future of the franchise revolved around the question of whether Tatum could get back to being Tatum…..I think we can already call it. The answer is a resounding yes.
- Sometimes you need to play bad teams to help you gain confidence. A slump buster if you will. We've all been there a time or two in our lives, and in basketball it's no different. You know who really needed a slump buster in my opinion? Derrick White. Just something to get the juices flowing and remind him that you know what? You CAN shoot. You SHOULD play aggresive and shoot with confidence because you're good! You can do it!
We saw signs of life against the Bucks, which was encouraging. Against the Hornets, it was more of the same. It wasn't just the 6-10 from the floor, it was the 4-6 from deep for me. Frankly, I can't remember the last time Derrick went 4-6 from deep. We all needed something like that and now that we got it, I feel as good as ever
The thing about DWhite's shooting is it's actually been mostly fine this season. He's shooting 41% on C&S 3PA this season. That's up from 33% (!!!!!!!) last year. He's well over 50% from midrange and the paint. The only thing that we haven't really seen was his Pull Up 3PA. Defensively, his defensive playmaking remains elite as ever even while the block numbers haven't kicked in yet.
I really do think the narrative around him to start the year isn't accurate. People giving up on him and saying he needs to be traded, I just don't see it. This is still a very, very, very good basketball player. And while we will need to see this sort of shooting production against good teams in games that matter, that doesn't take away from the progress that we're seeing.
Now that he's starting to see the ball go in and gain more confidence, I'm feeling more confident that we can at least live in a respectable range in terms of Derrick's shooting, and if that's the case then the offense is going to skyrocket. His shotmaking is important, so getting that back would be a huge lift.
- Every year gives us a new wrinkle to Joe Mazzulla's system, and I have to say I am head over heels in love with this season's addition.
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Never before have we seen the Celtics operate off ball the way they are this season. The screening and back screening, it's completely changed the way they play
The Celtics currently rank 3rd in the NBA in off screen frequency (5.6%). They barely trail the leader in DET (5.9%). The difference? The first two teams (DET, ATL) currently rank in the 37th and 58th percentile.
The Celtics? They're averaging 1.18 ppp and rank in the 89th percentile.
Joe says every year they reshape things based on their roster, and once again that is what we're seeing. With better off ball shooters in the mix, we're getting them clean opportunities. We're also seeing these screens be utilized to get downhill and run P&R.
Every single time down the floor you will see the big set a flare screen. I like this tweak for a few reasons. If you're doing it for someone like Tatum/George, it gets them a clean look should they want to pull up from deep. If not, it gets them the ball on the move, which will help catch the defense scrambing, then they're in rotation and guess what happens next? A wide open 3PA from a 40% shooter.
Just look at this shit
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- In the end, what we got was peak Mazzulla Ball. 119 points, 45/54% splits, 24 3PM which is a Cup record, 23 FTA, 51 REB and they held their opponent to under 81 points.
44 of their 83 FGA were 3PA, with 30 more coming in the paint. For the most part, their shot diet was about as ideal as it gets. Take the open 3s when you have them, get to the paint and finish at the rim when it's there, and also get to the FT line. Last night was the good shit.
- If we're going to crush Mitch when he looks beyond terrible, then we also have to acknowledge when he plays much, much better. Over these last two games I'd say he's playing much closer to the level I expected when the signing first happened.
All I care about with Mitch is impact. Rebounding, causing chaos, and defense. If you do that, I'm happy
Back in his reserve role, Mitch saw 15 minutes of action in this win, and finished with 6/7/1 and a +6 (3 OREB). His activity was much better, it felt like they were positioning him more in the dunker spot and around the rim which felt like a no brainer, and I really do think we could be turning a corner here.
It was very obvious from the start of the game that it's time to insert Neemy back into the starting five and bring Mitch off the bench in the role he played as a Knick. I don't think it's an accident that he's looking more like himself in the role he was just playing, and I think overall this is the better approach for everyone involved. Neemy's production with the starting group is too good to ignore, and this team has to make sure they are getting off to good starts in the Tatum minutes.
- If the 5th starting spot is truly still up for grabs, it's getting harder to come up with reasons as to why it shouldn't be Baylor. To begin the year I was more Team Hugo, but understood why Walsh got the nod. While Hugo has been mostly fine in his small sample, if I'm looking at the all around play of all the young wings, at this point of the year I do think Baylor has the lead.
His shotmaking has been great, his defense has been solid, he crashes the glass at an elite level, he brings a passing element to lineups where you can put Tatum/George etc off ball for possessions if needed, I've just really enjoyed the Baylor Scheierman Experience so far this season
- The way Hauser is shooting the ball though, I'm also starting to open up the idea of him being the 5th guy (if they go wing). Very very very very small sample, but I'm intrigued
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- Holding a real NBA team to just 80 points on 29/22% splits is something that just shouldn't happen in 2026. This tells me the Celts were focused and didn't overlook their opponent, which was a nice change of pace. It's crazy what getting stops can do for your offense isn't it? It's all connected. Not only does it obviously help your transition offense, but it's how you truly create separation. Who cares if you never miss on one end if you just give it right back on the other? Shutting off the water defensively while making it rain offensively is how you end up +39. A perfect approach for the Cup.
- Shoutout Mike Conley for the most inspiring 10 minutes of playing time you'll ever see. A +5 in his minutes, and he defended his ass off. If he can give that type of effort while being 50, then nobody has an excuse not to give it their all whenever they step on the floor. That's what I call leading by example.
- The off ball defense being played by Paul George has been the stuff of legends. It's starting to get ridiculous how he's just always in the right spot at all times. Another 3 STOCKS in this game, we're legitimately seeing an All NBA Defensive caliber start for PG13.
The active hands and the deflections have been the most noticeable part for me. I'd say every defensive trip there's at least a 65% chance that at some point he's going to get a hand on the ball. The Celts turnover generation has skyrocketed this season, and it's like 99.8% the defensive impact of Paul George.
- 0 ties, 0 lead changes, largest lead of 46. God damn.
The Bad
- Honestly there wasn't too much to complain about when you get an ass kicking like this, so if I had to nitpick I'd say the night of Hugo probably fits into this section. Didn't really do much in his 15 minutes, finished a -3, had a couple TOs, we've certainly seen him be better. I did like his little midrange/paint jumper so that's something to put a pin in, but I do think this was a bit of a missed opportunity for him to put some good tape out there.
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- No, I'm not going to worry at all about George's 3-11 (2-5). Why the fuck would I? Grow up. He still finished +23 in his minutes and played great defense. Focus on that instead.
- If we're being honest, 3 rebounds from Neemy in 15 minutes kind of stinks. Mitch had twice as many in the same minutes, so that wasn't great considering CHA doesn't really have a good frontcourt. It didn't matter of course, but the bigs definitely need ot be better when it comes to rebounding. Celts are still middle of the pack there, and this is supposed to be one of their superpowers.
The Ugly
- 18 TOs is simply far too many. Tatum/George combining for 7 wasn't great, and I would argue both of them have been pretty reckless/careless with the ball these last few games. We're seeing them finish with 7-8 TOs a night and I'm sorry, that's not acceptable.
I get high usage may come with an increase in TOs, but that combined number needs to be closer to 5 a game for my liking. A lot of these are coming off well intentioned passes I get it, but you can still have good intentions and NOT turn the ball over.
I'll tell you right now if the Celtics have 18 TOs on Tuesday, the Sixers are going to blow them out. Ball security has been pretty dogshit since the preseason, and now nearly 10 games in it's still a bit of an issue for a team that usually leads the NBA in limiting their turnovers.
With one more cupcake game against MIL tomorrow, I do think the Celts need to be careful. It's your classic trap game/look ahead game with the Sixers up on Tuesday. Plus, you know they'll probably be a little motivated given how their previous matchup went. Take care of your shit and then rest up, because Tuesday is going to be talked about like it's Game 7 of the NBA Finals.