Boston Celtics champion Jayson Tatum is playing tremendous basketball at the very early stages of the season and has likely started off well enough to have his name in the MVP conversation down the road. The Celtics dropped just their second game of the season Wednesday night to the Golden State Warriors. Even in the loss, Tatum received high praise from his running mate and fellow Celtics Champion, Jrue Holiday, following the game.
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He posted 32 points, shot 50% from three, and came up just six points shy of getting revenge on Warriors head coach Steve Kerr—or, that was how many in the NBA media outlined the picture leading up to the game at least. Whether deep down Tatum truly saw the matchup against the Warriors in the same light as some in the media space, who really knows? Missing Jaylen Brown for the evening’s showcase, Tatum played exceptionally well, assisted by Derrick White‘s 26 points. Unfortunately, neither Tatum’s nor White’s performances were enough to get past the Warriors.
Even in the loss, Tatum’s game did not go unnoticed by Holiday. Postgame, the two-time champion called Tatum a ‘top five player’ in the league. Listen to what he had to say when asked about Tatum’s impact this season.
“…just coming out, playing his game, being comfortable, being a top five player in the league like he is. So, he makes it look pretty easy, and then I think we just kind of follow suit, and he makes the game so much easier for everybody else because of his scoring ability and playmaking ability.”
Holiday’s praise for this teammate only goes to show the respect and admiration Tatum garners within the Celtics locker room. The way Tatum is playing in these first two weeks makes it hard to put him outside the league’s best five. It helps that the Celtics are 7-2 and, as a team, playing dominant basketball, much like last season. They lead the league in points (1,101) and are outscoring their opponents by double digits in all but one of their wins (124-118 vs Detroit Pistons).
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Apart from Tatum, we have Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and team record aside, Giannis Antetokounmpo. No matter the team records, these five are playing top-level basketball and are recognized as the league’s top guys. Insert Tatum in that group wherever you wish, and remove one, but he deserves to be included.
Tatum should be invested in shooting for league MVP honors this year amid the Celtics’ drive to repeat as champions. It feels like it’s his time. His work during the offseason on restructuring his three-point shot and shooting motion is paying dividends. More so, he looks like a different player, offensively—a better one, if possible. Boston’s six-point loss to Golden State happened without Jaylen Brown. With Tatum’s 32 points and Brown’s presence, the Celtics may very well have won the game by more than six.
With Brown’s return unknown at the moment, it’s Tatum’s team to carry until then. If he’s not in your top five now, it’s perfect timing for him to establish himself in that category, making Holiday’s sentiments correct.
