Celtics forward Jayson Tatum leads the Celtics on both ends of the floor and makes a statement on why it is time for him to get himself into the MVP conversation
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Last season, Jayson Tatum showed us how he has become one of the best players in the league while leading the Boston Celtics to their first NBA Finals in twelve years.
Now, the man seems possessed to be the world’s best. After playing and losing the first Finals of his life, Tatum looks poised this time to complete what they started, even in the absence of their General, Ime Udoka.
The 6’8 prolific scorer looks to have dedicated his off-season to playing defense, and with the opening day game of the 2022-23 season, he showed why should he be among the top MVP candidates in the world.
Jayson Tatum gets the MVP shout-outs from the first quarter of the opening-day game
When the Boston Celtics hosted the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, both teams looked ready from the get-go with no off-season rust whatsoever.
With the refreshing energy for the first game of the season, both Tatum and Joel Embiid were showing up on both ends of the floor with some vigor.
The former in particular looked too fabulous and delivered a high-flying spike on Tyrese Maxey while he had also scored 1/3rd of his team’s total points in the first quarter.
NBA Twitter was on its toes to give the MVP shout-outs for the 3x All-Star as soon as he made that block.
Tatum’s defense and MVP campaign can prove the X-factor for the defending Eastern Conference champs
JT’s willingness to play defense was fairly visible since the preseason started. The 24-year-old was talking to Marcus Smart throughout games while telling him to switch and getting himself on to the best opposition player.
And he is keeping at it as the regular season started with the Celtics taking on the Sixers. Having 33 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block by the end of 3rd quarter, Tatum led his team by example on both ends of the floor with a plus-minus of ‘+14’.
If he could keep up this energy throughout the season, there’s no one who could deny him the MVP award. Other than Giannis Antetokounmpo, nobody will be as good on both ends of the floor. And we know something about voter fatigue, don’t we?
However, it would also mean that the Celtics would get even better defensively, and being last year’s best defensive team in the league, they would again have the best chance to come out of the East, despite the Conference getting even stronger.
The addition of Malcolm Brogdon has ensured a significant improvement in their offense as well. Scary times in the East I suppose?
