A little over a quarter of the way through the season, Tatum looks very much like an MVP candidate.
Jayson Tatum put together a masterful performance and the Celtics claimed a 111-105 win over the Bucks on Friday, improving to 19-4 this season.
Here are the takeaways.
Jayson Tatum picked on Brook Lopez.
Lopez is an important defender for the Bucks – a towering figure in the paint who discourages any foray to the rim with great success.
So rather than having offensive players drive straight at him, the Celtics – especially late – adjusted by forcing him to come out and defend Tatum on the perimeter by bringing Lopez’s defensive assignment out to set a screen.
That allowed Tatum to drive at the slower Lopez, and while it didn’t always result in a basket, it helped keep the paint open.
Tatum, meanwhile, came up big in a big game yet again – 34 points on 12-for-20 shooting (4-for-10 from three) to go with 10 rebounds and five assists. Two of his assists were similar looking dimes out of the pick-and-roll, wrapping around defenders to find a cutting teammate.
A little over a quarter of the way through the season, Tatum looks very much like an MVP candidate, and playing against a fellow candidate in Giannis Antetokounmpo, he finished with more points on more efficient shooting, more assists and a nice win.
A dubious season-first.
The Celtics had not gone an entire quarter without a 3-pointer yet this season, but they went 0-for-12 in the second, which was part of a 17-for-53 performance from behind the arc for the game. Payton Pritchard was uncharacteristically off (0-for-2) and Derrick White shot 0-for-8 from deep, continuing his shooting woes after a 4-for-15 overall performance against the Pistons.
Al Horford, meanwhile, was just 2-for-7, but he hit the biggest shot of the game late in the fourth quarter when the ball found him in transition for an open triple above the break that pushed the Celtics’ lead to two possessions.
