Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum continues to struggle

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 26: Jayson Tatum of the USA falls to the ground after being fouled during the International Friendly Basketball match between Canada and the USA at Qudos Bank Arena on August 26, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 26: Jayson Tatum of the USA falls to the ground after being fouled during the International Friendly Basketball match between Canada and the USA at Qudos Bank Arena on August 26, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) /
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This is an important season for Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics. So the young star’s play with Team USA is quite concerning.

Team USA was supposed to be a coming-out party of sorts for Jayson Tatum. Boston Celtics fans were hoping that we would see the youngster dominate. That hasn’t been the case.

So far in exhibitions, Tatum hasn’t been adjusting to international ball. Instead of excelling he is withering away on the court.

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In Team USA’s warmup games for the FIBA World Cup, Tatum is averaging 8.3 points and 3.5 rebounds a game.

Celtics fans would much rather focus on guys like Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker. They have become the driving force of this Team USA squad.

Now it may not be a barometer for what to expect this season, but Tatum’s performance is concerning.

We are expecting a lot from Tatum this season. He will be looked upon to be one of the team’s top scorers. If he can’t score against Canada how is he supposed to score in bunches in the NBA?

Tatum is supposed to be the Celtics savior. The guy who will dominate for years to come. He is supposed to be the future of the franchise.

So hopefully he will find his game soon with Team USA. It took a while for the team to get off and running so hopefully when the World Cup starts Tatum will show out.

But if Tatum struggles throughout international play it will be quite concerning. The Celtics may be forced to rely on Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown a lot more than they were planning to.

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So Jayson Tatum needs to start playing better or will he have a very short leash among Celtics fans this season. If I had to guess, he will figure things out sooner rather than later.