NBA Hoops

A very Tatum afternoon: 10 Takeaways from Boston Celtics-Charlotte Hornets

A very Tatum afternoon: 10 Takeaways from Boston Celtics-Charlotte Hornets

1. The Boston Celtics are rolling. A full-on wagon, as the kids say. After flipping the switch on Saturday night to run away from the Charlotte Hornets, the Celtics played with their food a little bit during an MLK Day matinee. But in the end, it was another double-digit victory.

This was Boston’s seventh consecutive win. The average margin of victory during this streak is 13.1 points. That’s dominating basketball.

Not only are the Celtics winning, but their competitors atop the Eastern Conference have been sliding. Boston has opened up a 4.5-game lead over the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks and a five-game lead over the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics are cruising and starting to create some real separation from the rest of the conference as the trade deadline and All-Star break loom next month.

2. It would be completely disingenuous to start with anyone but Jayson Tatum. He was so good on Monday afternoon. Tatum scored 51 points and barely appeared to break a sweat. He was 15-of-23 from the floor, including 7-of-12 on three-pointers. Tatum also went 14-of-14 from the free throw line. Simply put, there was no one even close to his level on the floor, and no one from Charlotte had a prayer of stopping him.

Look at how quick this crossover is to get Tatum by Mason Plumlee and to the rim for the layup:

Bryce McGowens is a nice enough player for a Two-Way guy. But he’s not going to stop Tatum:

There’s a lot of craft to Tatum’s game. He and Rob Williams expertly work the two-man game here:

This is a fun play. Derrick White puts the ball on the spot for Tatum as he rolls. Tatum then fakes the behind the back pass to shed the defender as he goes in for the layup:

This is great basketball from Tatum and Marcus Smart. At this point in the game, the Hornets are putting two on the ball whenever they can. Tatum sets the ghost screen and slips out to the wing. Smart goes really wide coming off that action, so that Tatum’s defender can’t cheat back. LaMelo Ball is a little late and doesn’t get a hand up:

Dennis Smith Jr. is a great athlete, but look at him backing up as Tatum goes through his dribble series here. Tatum has at least six or seven inches, so Smith has no chance to even remotely bother this shot as Tatum rises:

Tatum is so good at using screens when he’s off-ball. Charlotte goes under, so he pops wide for the jumpers. If Jalen McDaniels went over, Tatum would have cut to the paint. When…

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