Generally, it’s one thing easy that determines our destiny — a job software despatched on a whim, a remark from a liked one, flipping a coin. For Jayson Tatum, his destiny has been decided by the best of basketball actions. The pick-and-roll.
The Dallas Mavericks have been trying to find targets for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to assault within the first two video games of this sequence. In Recreation 2, they determined their destiny rested with Jayson Tatum. Again and again, up would come Tatum’s defender, set a display screen, and Tatum would change onto one in all Dallas’ dynamic ball handlers. The early outcomes for Dallas have been encouraging.
However Tatum’s a sturdy, resolute defender. Whilst he was settling into being the thing of Dallas’ offensive exploitation, he wasn’t with out his victories.
He principally contained Luka, forcing him to fireplace up tough pictures, a lot of which he made.
A few of which he didn’t make.
On steadiness, it was a gutsy defensive efficiency from Tatum, who’s tasked with an enormous burden on that finish within the sequence. He’s guarding the middle and combating for rebounding place, after which additionally being requested to modify onto two elite ballhandlers. It’s a tough activity, and one he’s principally been as much as.
Offensively, Tatum has been a maestro. He leads the NBA Playoffs in pick-and-roll effectivity (together with passes, minimal 50 possessions) per Synergy.
As a lot as Luka and Irving went at Tatum on the defensive finish, Tatum has been aggressively focusing on them each, too.
Possession after possession, Tatum brings up a teammate with Luka or Kyrie guarding them and has him set a decide. The duo has no selection however to simply accept their destiny.
And often, Jayson Tatum finds a very good shot. It may not go in — he’s missed lots over two video games himself — however the Celtics have made offense look fairly simple, often manipulating Dallas’s protection, placing Irving and Doncic into matchups they’ve little success in opposition to, and, most significantly, transferring the ball.
Because the Cs have moved ever deeper into the playoffs, they’ve frequently rose to the problem. They’ve executed it with belief, with an egalitarian model that doesn’t concern itself with particular person stats or benchmarks. As an alternative, the staff solely cares concerning the staff. It begins with the Jays, two stars prepared to do what’s greatest for the Celtics, not themselves, trusting that transferring the ball is the easiest way to win. It’s their solely goal.
Tatum’s pick-and-roll efficiency, on each ends, is a testomony to that. He’s began to look rather a lot much less like his private Lakers idol, Kobe Bryant, and extra like one other Lakers legend, Magic Johnson. Magic famously began at heart in a Finals clinching Recreation 6. Guarding the largest man on the courtroom, whereas commanding the offense on the opposite finish. Sounds acquainted.
