The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum celebrates a basket against Giannis Antetokounmpo during team’s … [+]
In the context of how the Boston Celtics offseason has gone, Jayson Tatum has had a relatively easy time. Tatum hasn’t undergone last-minute knee surgery like center Robert Williams, had his name attached to a high-profile trade request like Jaylen Brown or been suspended for a year for undefined (but clearly serious) team violations like head coach Ime Udoka. If the 2022-23 Celtics season is going to require someone to provide some long-term stability, it might as well be the player currently in the second year of a five-year, $163 million contract.
Tatum will once again head into next season as Boston’s best player but he hasn’t always been their most reliable player. Despite getting some premature MVP buzz heading into last season (sorry about that), Tatum disappointed mightily in the first half of the season, leaving Brown was the one who had to step up as the Celtics struggled to keep above .500.
Once Tatum adjusted to Udoka’s newly installed system, however, the results were enough to transform the Celtics into the league’s hottest team in the season’s second half. Despite the slow start, Tatum ended the regular season scoring 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. This was officially his team, it seemed.
Unfortunately, the inconsistency would return at the worst possible time, as Tatum’s cold streaks became an issue in their Jekyll-and-Hyde playoff performances. In the postseason games where Tatum racked up at least eight assists, the Celtics were 7-0; in all other games, they went 7-10. Tatum shot 31.7% from the field in the NBA Finals while ending the postseason with 100 turnovers, the most in NBA history.
After his Finals performance, critics circled back to examining Tatum’s leadership skills, which was unfortunate. This is almost always an unproductive conversation to have about a basketball player given that “leadership” isn’t quantifiable and, even if it were, it’s not something we can grasp just by watching the games.
“I feel like I’m very vocal,” Tatum said to the media on Thursday. “I might not be the loudest guy—especially in front of the camera. But for the guys in that locker room, when we’re in practice or on the plane or on the court, my presence is felt in my voice… that’s all I try to do when I see something: try to help guys out.”
This is exactly what you want to hear from your team MVP heading into a suddenly uncertain season. Last season, Udoka’s voice was always the loudest and, with him gone indefinitely, there will be a leadership vacuum. Beyond Udoka being persona non grata at TD Garden, Al Horford’s “veteran presence” will be at least slightly minimalized with the Celtics likely to reduce his minutes to keep his legs fresh for the postseason
Still, Tatum’s season—and his Celtics career—won’t be defined by locker room speeches or closed-door meetings. It will come down to how he plays on the court: we have seen that Tatum can be the best player on a championship team, we just haven’t seen him do it on a consistent basis. Considering what his team has gone through this summer, there is no time like the present for him to provide the Celtics much-needed continuity.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hunterfelt/2022/09/30/the-boston-celtics-need-stability-jayson-tatum-could-provide-it/