I am now into my seventh (7th) decade of following the NBA and Celtics basketball, and I am in total awe of Jayson Tatum and his game.
From his arrival in Boston, I have tagged as possibly the smoothest Celtic to ever take to the parquet. Tatum seemed to glide down the floor like no Boston player before him. But my argument was that the youngster, unlike his predecessor, Paul Pierce, always seemed to avoid contact.
That has not changed to a large extent. Jayson's smoothess remains, but he is stronger and can take the buffeting on the way to the hoop - and still finish. He is a solid defender - skilled rebounder - and willing passer.
Tommy Hainsohn once labelled The Truth as possibly the best scorer in Celtics history, but Tatum may take over that label. Originally, I placed Tatum's potential ceiling somewhere between Pierce and Larry Bird, and that may come to fruition. He is that good. MVP is far from being out of the question.
In last night's 122-104 win over the Kings, he racked up 30 points (19-of-33 FG), eight boards and four assists. His Jay Team partner, Jaylen Brown, added 25 points, five boards and four assists. They truly are a team-within-a-team - and perhaps the top duo in the League.
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