It’s been 38 years since a Boston Celtic won NBA MVP, but Jayson Tatum put voters on notice early this year with a commanding performance in Boston’s Game 2 of the NBA Cup. With 33 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists, he dominated every part of the kelly green parquet and snapped the Cavaliers 15-0 start to the season.
It was a statement game.
Don’t give me any “it’s only November” guff. Tuesday was the sort of regular season game the league dreams about, and not because it was part of the NBA Cup. It was the first time in 29 years that reigning league champions have faced a 15-0 team. It was a big spot for Tatum to show out, and he rose to the occasion.
He flew out of the gate with eight points in the first quarter, returning to the form in which he started the first several games of the season. He found his stroke early and was a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc in the first half. He worked the boards and found his teammates. His coordination of the offense helped every starter find a three-pointer before halftime.
Tatum has given strong quarters and halves before, but a complete game is harder to come by. He so often defers to a hyper-talented teammate’s hot hand, be it Jaylen Brown or Derrick White. But against Cleveland, his hand wouldn’t cool – even in a third quarter during which the Cavs hunted depth piece Neemias Queta in the paint and made quick work of closing Boston’s lead. Tatum stopped the bleeding with a dagger at the buzzer of the quarter – a three that gave the Celtics a five-point cushion heading into the fourth.
After his usual rest to start that quarter, he got into the paint and immediately helped Queta on Cavalier Ty Jerome. The play forced a jump ball and led to a turnover in Boston’s favor. After a reverse layup that tallied his total to 30 points, he sliced Cleveland’s defense inside and kicked the ball out to Payton Pritchard for a smooth three.
“We just kept a level of poise about us,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game.
“I thought we were physical the entire game, which I care a lot about in the regular season,” he added.
Tatum’s MVP case will, ironically, be most hurt by Boston’s greatest strength: its depth. Boston returned the league’s best starting five from last year’s championship team. They also have a bona fide sixth man of the year candidate in Payton Pritchard, who continues to prove himself better than buzzer beating little circus shooting freak the rest of the league makes him out to be.
He’s up against players who are the suns of their teams’ solar systems. The most recent NBA MVP ladder ranked him second, behind perennial favorite Nikola Jokic and ahead of Kevin Durant. It will be a fluctuating race all season, but Tatum’s most dangerous opponents will likely be Jokic and the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It will be difficult to match or surprise their individual numbers.
But at some point these awards have be about quality as much as quantity. Basketball isn’t just a math equation. Context matters. Otherwise, we’d all sit around reading box scores, instead of at least watching the highlights. The Celtics proved they are the best team in the East – both in talent in execution, and Tatum’s leadership in that statement is undeniable.
Last time a Celtic was NBA MVP, ALF had just debuted on NBC and Microsoft had just issued their first IPO. It’s a lot harder to break a 38-year drought than a 15-game win streak, but in November, Tatum showed why he could deserve a serious look in June.