NBA Scout Discusses Impact of Tatum's Return

The Boston Celtics are sitting in a pretty nice position. When Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the playoffs last season, people were expecting the Celtics to take a season off. Instead, they pulled themselves up by the bootstraps and have put together one of the biggest surprise seasons in the NBA of late. As of Friday, they are the second seed in the Eastern Conference with an impressive record of 43-23. 

To add to the hype, Jayson Tatum is finally healthy and has rejoined the Celtics. One NBA scout recently described just how impactful Tatum’s return could be for the Celtics. 

"He's drawing the best defender on a nightly basis, and he's setting the tone offensively while defenses are loading up on him. Teams are sending that low man early, really crowding him and even blitzing him at times. But if Jayson Tatum can find his rhythm and get back to a workload where opposing teams treat him like the Jayson Tatum they saw before the Achilles tear, that's going to make Jaylen's job a lot easier. At that point, he may not always have to deal with the other team's best defender, and he'll have more opportunities to get to his spots and be as efficient as possible."

Jaylen Brown has been having an All-NBA season without Tatum next to him. While some may fear that Brown can’t keep up his incredible play now that he is once again splitting the spotlight, this scout believes that Brown’s game could actually improve. 

Having another threat like Tatum on the court is going to help the Celtics no matter what. Tatum’s presence makes everyone on the team’s job a bit easier, and if Tatum is 75-80% of his former self, the Celtics are going to be very dangerous in this seasons’ playoffs.