Jayson Tatum Leading Celtics to Victory
The Boston Celtics have come out of the gate swinging this season. The controversy regarding head coach Ime Udoka’s sex scandal with an unnamed female team staffer did not bring about the disaster that many predicted. Under interim head coach Joe Mazzula, the Celtics have gotten into a groove and have been dominating.
The C’s stand at 10-3 record, and hold the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The only team in the NBA with a better record is the Milwaukee Bucks. So, what’s to account for Boston’s success?
Although the team has been united and working as one, this has not always been the case. Despite the Celtics’ accomplishments last season, where they finished strong and made it to the NBA Finals, the team did not perform this well in the beginning of the season.
For reference, by this point in the season last year, the Celtics – who have had a very similar starting lineup in both seasons – held a losing record at 7-8 through their first 15 games. Starters like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Al Horford would have breakout games and score tens of points, just to go quiet the next night.
There are multiple factors leading to the team’s incredible start to the year. Mainly, though, is the talent that comes out to play at the highest level every night. The Celtics have been consistent throughout their first 15 games, and one that has shined above the rest is Jayson Tatum.
Tatum has clearly struggled with this in the past, going from MVP-level performances in some games to being a non-factor in others. That has not been the case this year. Tatum is reaching some career bests, including field-goal percentage with 50% and 3-point field-goal percentage with 38.7%, as well as averaging 32.3 points per game.
While of course it’s still very early in the season, there is much to be excited about with this Celtics team! If they can keep this up, they may easily find themselves in another run for the championship come June.
