Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum surprised a lot of national NBA analysts and even some local ones by being the best player on the floor in the Celtics’ first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets in the 2022 Eastern Conference Playoffs, upping his defensive game as one of superstar Nets forward Kevin durant’s primary defenders while easily dominating the offensive end of the court at the same time.
The St. Louis native put up an impressive 29.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game across the four-contest series with Brooklyn in an average of 41.7 minutes per game. Tatum shot 45.6% from the field, a very good 41.9% from beyond the arc, and 86.8% from the charity stripe in the series, fouling 4.5 per contest and turning the ball over 5 times per game.
