With a +573, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum leads the entire league this season with the highest plus-minus.
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The Boston Celtics had a subpar first half of the season, to say the least. The team was 18-21 and didn’t seem to be a threat to the powerhouses. However, since then Ime Udoka’s boys have been on a roll, changed the narrative to their favor, and won 28 of the last 35 contests. Indeed, it was the entire squad who increased their production for their recent success, however, a huge reason for their change in fortune has to be credited to Jayson Tatum.
The 3-time All-Star has been playing like an MVP candidate so far. With a solid 112.6 offensive rating, Tatum is deadly with the rock in his hands and is also a capable defender on the other side of the court.
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After averaging a respectable 25.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game from October-February, JT has been playing a different level of basketball this month. So far in the month of March, the former Duke Blue Devil has gone on to put up a staggering 33.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.7 assists on an efficient 53.6/46.7/90.4 shooting split. During this 11-game span, the forward has even led his team to a remarkable 10-1 record.
Jayson Tatum is averaging 34.4 PPG on 53% FG, 45% 3P, 90% FT shooting splits over the last 10 Games…Boston is 9-1 in that span. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UtZMBV9qPb
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 22, 2022
Jayson Tatum has the league’s best plus-minus this season
For his incredible performance lately, Jayson Tatum was even boosted at the #6 position on the latest MVP ladder.
Jayson Tatum this season:
— 26.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG (career highs)
— Most PPG since All-Star break
— Won 20 of last 24 games
— Best point differential in East
— Best point differential in 2022
— Best defense in NBA
— 1 game back from Sixers
— 1.5 games back from BucksMVP dark horse? pic.twitter.com/XYFRrQwTsg
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 19, 2022
Tatum averaging 27/8.1/4.3 this season wasn’t very surprising. However, seeing his +/- stat has come as a shock to me. With a staggering +573 (+161 last season), the 24-year-old has been leading the entire league with the highest plus-minus.
To give you an idea of just how impressive this is – MVP frontrunners Giannis Antetokounmpo has a plus-minus of +371, Nikola Jokic with +354, and Joel Embiis with +276.
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 24, 2022
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The Celtics currently sit on the #4 position in the Eastern Conference. Being only 1.5 games behind the top-seeded Miami Heat, Jayson Tatum and co. definitely have the firepower to cause some damage in the postseason.