Jayson Tatum Does It All

On Saturday night in Gotham, on Super Bowl Eve, on national TV, Jayson Tatum reminded the basketball-consuming public why humbly, he's one of the best players in the world. He was on the one's and two's on just about every play, as he dropped in a cool 40 points, to go with six rebounds, four assists, and just one turnover. He was on the court for just about the entire time too. His 36:44 minutes played doesn't stand out for a 48-minute game, but keep in mind that he didn't need to play the final 8:49 of the contest. So really, he played played 36:44 of the first 39:11. The four assists is especially misleading, because Tatum had the ball on nearly every possession for the first three-plus quarters, and he was on his game. On the other end, he covered the entire spectrum of players the Knicks could throw at him. It was a master class from the superstar, and the result was an emphatic 27-point beatdown.

A few important things happened to demonstrate just how much better Tatum is than Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Takeover

One thing I've written about recently is that sometimes, Tatum needs to be more selfish. He has to recognize that he's the person who has to pull the team out of the funk, and be that guy. Last night, he was. When Mikal Bridges got a transition three (the only three he made) to bring the Knicks to within three points at 70-67 nearly halfway through the third quarter, Madison Square Garden was absolutely rocking. In years past, this would be where the C's would melt down. Not on this night. The calmest person in the building was Jayson Tatum. He literally gave the team the "settle down" gesture before taking the inbounds pass:

Then he walked back down the court, and blew by both Karl-Anthony Towns (who never got in position) and Jalen Brunson (olé!) for an easy dunk. Here's how the rest of the quarter unfolded:

• Miles McBride fouls Derrick White on a three-point attempt, hits three FT's
• Tatum feeds White for easy lay-up from the dunker spot when Brunson is forced to step up and essentially be a third person covering Tatum, which leaves White wide open
• Tatum hits Neemias Queta for transition lay-up, but Neemie forgets how to walk (he was really good otherwise last night though)
• Tatum hits White for three when Brunson is forced to step up and essentially be a third person covering Tatum, which leaves White wide open
• Tatum hits all three free throws after Bridges fouls him on three-point attempt
• White three pointer (great screen from Queta)
• Tatum step-back three over Bridges
• Tatum pull-up jumper over Brunson
• Tatum turnaround fadeaway over Bridges
• Tatum wide-open three when Brunson's brain momentarily left his body and he left Tatum to double White after Tatum set him a pick. Just, it can't be overstated what a terrible decision that was. Tatum had hit smooth jumpers on literally the prior three possessions, and Brunson thought that was the minute to leave him wide open. Sure.
• Tatum misses three before quarter buzzer

D White's contributions shouldn't be minimized, but that is a Tatum takeover, and right when his team needed it the most. Tatum sensed the moment, and produced two assists (and a third would-be assist), then hits three straight free throws and four straight jumpers. The pièce de résistance was the step-back three over Bridges:

Bridges used to be one of the best defenders in the whole league, and is still a very capable defender, with long arms and great body control. But when Tatum steps back for this shot, he creates enough space that Bridges doesn't get anywhere near blocking it or even Tatum's line of vision. Does that make it a good shot on Tatum's part? Not really! He's fading back from 29' away. That's one of the hardest shots you could possibly take. But the promise of Tatum is that he can hit those shots. And when he does, there's just nothing the other team can do. Not that they didn't try.

Offensive Responsibility

Few players have to deal with more responsibility on the offensive end than does Tatum. Frequently, the Celtics ran a single very high pick/screen for him out beyond the three-point line, which got him into space. This has increasingly been Boston's strategy to combat double teams on Tatum, because opponent after opponent these past couple of months have decided that the best way to beat the Celtics is to double team Tatum and force him to pass. Jaylen Brown? Not double teamed. Derrick White? Kristaps Porzingis? Jrue Holiday? No one doubles them. Brian Scalabrine has been raving about it for a minute now.

It's obviously not easy being double teamed. In my daughter's league, double teaming a player is actually expressly forbidden, because they're kids trying to learn how to play, and double teaming is deemed unfair. Anthony Edwards famously whined that "it's not fun" after the C's relentlessly doubled him earlier this season. So when team after team doubles team Tatum, it can be difficult. Four times in the past 15 games, Tatum has had four or more turnovers. One of those was the Jan. 10 home loss to the Sacramento Kings, which was quite possibly the most embarrassing loss of the season. Tatum had eight turnovers in that one.

On this particular night, Tatum was ready. Whether he sprayed the ball out to teammates, calmly yet aggressively crossed over Karl-Anthony Towns or Precious Achiuwa on his way to the hoop, or both, Tatum was the one dictating the action even when the doubles came. One of the reasons is because he's just getting the reps dealing with these double teams and learning how to produce at an elite level despite them. The other is that the Knicks are just not very good at defense.

Elite Defense on Anyone

One of the things that rarely gets talked about is how Tatum can cover anyone on the court. There isn't another first-team All-NBA player right now who can. Last night it was on display. For a lot of the game, he was in coverage on Towns. Towns only got off eight shots all night. He scored just nine points, and was a -26. Now, perhaps Towns just wasn't comfortable. He has a knee thing and a finger thing. But he played. And Tatum constantly stood in between him and the basket, at one time forcing him into a traveling violation (Queta helped). On paper, Towns is four inches taller and 38 lbs. heavier. Those are not small differences. Tatum held him in check anyway.

That's not to say he only guarded Towns. He matched up plenty with Bridges and Brunson too. One possession was particularly telling. With the game slipping away from the Knicks, and after Tatum had expended a ton of energy building the C's that big lead, Tatum found himself on the perimeter guarding Brunson. Brunson is listed at 6'2", 190 lbs., which again, is a significant difference between him and Tatum. Brunson should be able to zoom right by him and get to the cup, right? Not on this occasion. Brunson tried to dance on him before realizing his actions were futile, and settled for a flat-footed three that hit the front rim and fell off. Tatum was able to stay down in case it was Brunson's 476th up-fake of the night, but was still long enough to get a hand near his face.

There's just not a lot of players in the NBA who can cover the other team's two best players. The list of players who can do it when there is a significant size difference between those two players is even shorter, and neither Brunson nor Towns are on it. They're neither capable of it physically, nor do they make the best decisions in the moment (as Brunson leaving Tatum in that third quarter breakdown above shows). If you're looking for the fundamental difference between the Celtics and the Knicks, it's that their two best players in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are perfectly capable and happy to cover the Knicks' two best players in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, but the reverse is not true. Last night this was on full display.

Toward the end of last night's game, ESPN play-by-play announcer Mark Jones said that Jayson Tatum was "disemboweling" the Knicks. The Knicks are a very good team this season, and neither team was at full strength. But the C's had more starters out of the lineup, and it just didn't matter, because of Tatum. The Celtics are not invincible, and won't win every time they play the Knicks, but it'd be hard to watch these first two Celtics-Knicks matchups and believe the Knicks can beat the Celtics four times in seven games, and that is due to how brilliant Jayson Tatum is. Simply put, Jayson Tatum can do it all.