Jayson Tatum is one of the best forwards in the league. He is a fantastic shot creator and defender, and there’s no doubt that he has shown his status as a superstar over the course of the Celtics’ playoff run this season.
Despite his talent, Jayson Tatum was left off of the All-NBA during the 2020-21 season. When asked why he feels he made the All-NBA first team this season after getting snubbed last season, Jayson Tatum pointed out that the Celtics won more games this year, but stated that his playmaking jump was the reason he made it this season:
Jayson Tatum on why he feels he made the leap from off All-NBA last year to first team: “We won more games than last year, but I think playmaking, just being able to read the game a lot better slowed it down for me in a lot of ways and I think it’s shown.”
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) May 25, 2022
We won more games than last year, but I think playmaking, just being able to read the game a lot better slowed it down for me in a lot of ways and I think it’s shown.
There’s no doubt that Jayson Tatum has made an improvement as a passer/playmaker, and he is often capable of making the right play and trusting his teammates. He averaged a career-high 4.4 APG during the regular season and elevated that number to 5.8 APG during the playoffs.
There are many people who believe that Jayson Tatum is now among the best players in the league. For example, JJ Redick has recently claimed that he views Jayson Tatum as a “top 8 or top 10 player in the NBA”:
“Look, Tatum to me, had another classic bounce back game. I have a real interesting stat, since mid-January he’s played in 48 games and he hasn’t played in consecutive losses. And any time they’ve lost, he’s averaged 32 and averaged 51% from the field after the loss. He’s gotta be able to be a little more consistent to close the series out, but I expect the Celtics to win.”
“Look, he is a great player. He’s probably at this point, a top 8 or 10 player in the NBA, and yeah a player like that, you expect them to have big nights back-to-back.”
The Boston Celtics will face off against the Miami Heat today, and there’s no doubt that they’ll be looking to steal Game 5 on the road and then close out the series in Game 6 at home. If Jayson Tatum plays similarly to how he did in Game 4, then the Celtics definitely have a good chance of winning.
With that being said, the Miami Heat shouldn’t be counted out, and the series could easily go the full 7 games. Hopefully, we see some good basketball to end the Eastern Conference Finals, and there’s no doubt that Game 5 will be an intense battle for both teams on both ends of the floor.
