“He learned a lot from Kyrie Irving as much as that breakup happened, he learned a lot from Kevin Durant” - Shams Charania says Jayson Tatum is blossoming right before our eyes
Jayson Tatum and his growing greatness was mentioned in Wednesday’s episode of the “Pat McAfee Show." During the episode, Shams Charania gave his opinion on the recent growth we have seen from the Boston Celtics star.
Jayson Tatum is blossoming before our eyes
Charania stated:
“[Jayson Tatum] learned a lot from Kyrie Irving as much as that breakup happened, he learned a lot from Kevin Durant.”
"Jayson Tatum has taken the next step in his career & he's blossoming right before our eyes" ~@ShamsCharania
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Jayson Tatum was selected third overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2017 NBA draft. The 2017-18 season was Tatum’s rookie season. It was also Kyrie Irving’s first year on the squad. Irving would only stay for another season before leaving for Brooklyn in 2019. During his time playing for the Celtics, Irving averaged 24.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.1 assists.
Though Boston still isn't happy about Kyrie’s departure, Jayson Tatum used his time with the great effectively. Tatum’s first two years in the NBA were blessed by having Kyrie as a teammate and star in Boston. Jayson had all the inside takes on what made Irving so great and was able to learn first hand.
Well, it looks like Jayson Tatum paid attention.
The Boston Celtics finished the 2021-22 NBA regular season 2nd place in the Eastern Conference with 51 wins to 31 losses. As a result, they were matched up against the Brooklyn Nets. What was supposed to be a close series ended rather quickly as Jayson Tatum and company swept the Nets 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs. The Nets started this season as prime favorites to win the NBA championship and ended up getting dominated by Tatum and his fellow defensive greats.
Across the series against Brooklyn, Jayson Tatum averaged 29.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 3.3 made three-pointers. Tatum quite literally showed up everywhere on the court, on both ends of the play, in every scenario he possibly could.
For the 2021-22 NBA season, Tatum averaged 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. He is only in his fifth year in the league. in his first year in the league, Tatum averaged 13.9 points per game. After spending another year with Irving, he grew to 15.7 points. After Kyrie left, and Boston was all Jayson’s, he grew to averaging 23.4 points during his 2019-20 season. He has been steadily growing in points per game year after year, with 26.4 in 2020-21, and 26.9 this year.
After winning their first round, the Boston Celtics are set to match up against the Milwaukee Bucks, the defending champions. Giannis Antetokounmpo is playing atop an MVP-caliber year going toward defending his crown. However, the Boston Celtics will stand with great confidence after sweeping an offensive great like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Milwaukee is also without All-Star guard Khris Middleton, who has recently been dubbed out of the remainder of the first-round due to a sprained MCL. Khris averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game this season for the Bucks and will be missed as an offensive contribution and a defensive force as well.
The Boston Celtics have an insurmountable level of defense that was on display against the Brooklyn Nets in their first round. Though Milwaukee is quite different from Brooklyn, as they are arguably larger and tougher than the Nets, Boston’defensece has yet to fall. Tatum and company are looking as tight and as aggressive as ever.