Jayson Tatum is not just targeting the Championship, he is looking to be the league’s best player and some Celtics’ records are going to get shattered
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After losing out on the Championship last season and then just before the beginning of the 2022-23 season, losing their head coach in a scandal that rocked the franchise from the core, the Boston Celtics still managed a perfect start.
On Saturday, they had a rather easier schedule, at least on paper, when they took on the Orlando Magic after their back-to-back victories against the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat.
And Jayson Tatum made a perfect statement that he is not just targeting to lead the C’s to their first Larry O’Brien in 14 years, but also his first MVP.
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The man scored 40-points in the latest outing, breaking a franchise record while handing Paolo Banchero and Co their third straight loss of the season.
Jayson Tatum breaks a Boston Celtics scoring record with his 40-point night
With his 40p-8r-1a-1s-2b performance in the 126-120 win against Magic on the road, Jayson Tatum now holds the Celtics’ record for most points scored in the first three games of a season.
(via @NBCSBoston) pic.twitter.com/OyTuV5npwP
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 23, 2022
Not that this record would mean the world to him, but it could set him on the way to take over the C’s player with the most points in a season, top-3 of which has John Havlicek’s 1970-71 season and Larry Bird’s 1984-85 and 87-88 season.
Tatum ended last year with 2046 points, 292 points behind #1 Havlicek. It was the 13th-best scoring season by a Celtic but he missed out on leading them to a championship.
Mind you, none of those three seasons by either Havlicek or Bird we just talked about ended with Boston winning the championship either. Coincidence? I think not.
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