Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum winning games like an All-Star

It’s early in the 2019-20 NBA season, but Boston Celtics third-year forward Jayson Tatum is starting to look like the All-Star he is projected to be.

Don’t look now, but Boston Celtics talented forward Jayson Tatum is averaging 22.0 points per game and looking like he is going to breakout as an All-Star as projected, predicted and hoped.

Well, hopefully we are not jinxing the Duke product just five games in the 2019-20 NBA season, but so far so good for a younger player the Celtics are really riding on to make that leap to the next level.

Though there are still some inconsistencies, when Tatum’s shooting is on and he is aggressive towards the basket, his overall game thrives, including his defensive play.

Following a game in which he turned it on in the second half against the high-powered Milwaukee Bucks, Jayson Tatum helped lead the Celtics to a 104-102 victory Friday night at TD Garden, clinching it on a last-second shot designed for him.

The 6-foot-8 forward poured in 24 points and shot just over 50 percent from the field.  Certainly not dominant in the game, but his poise in knocking down the game-winning shot displayed he does have what it takes to be the type of player who wants the ball in his hand when the game is on the line.

Take a look at this clutch shot that nailed the game for the Boston Celtics:

With ice in his veins, Tatum propelled his team to their fourth consecutive victory of the season.  Kemba Walker led the team with 33 points, but it is Jayson Tatum and his assertiveness that is really shining for the Celtics in the early season.

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It’s a difference in assertiveness head coach Brad Stevens saw even before the regular season began.

"“I don’t want to say that it’s too different, but I see a different way, a different assertiveness in the right things,” Stevens said early in October, via The Boston Herald.  “He’s practiced really hard, made a conscious effort to take the right shots and not be any less aggressive.  He’s still really aggressive.”"

Perhaps another year of experience and playing alongside a professional player like Walker is the difference Stevens is seeing in Tatum this season.  Although the pressure is the same regarding elevating his own game, the Boston Celtics as a team are being slept on and that may be a dangerous thing in the Eastern Conference.

Jayson Tatum looking like an All-Star, along with Kemba Walker, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown and the versatility of Marcus Smart have a little something to say about how the East will go down.