Not that it should be a shock to anyone, but Jayson Tatum looked incredible as the No. 1 guy during the Boston Celtics' preseason game against the Philadelphia 76ers. (I know it was preseason, and I know the 76ers didn't play Joel Embiid, LeBron James, or Jaylen Brown, but that doesn't change the fact that Tatum looked incredible right out of the gate.)
In the win, Tatum recorded 23 points on 9-for-19 shooting (including 4-for-10 from deep), five rebounds, four assists, one steal, and just one turnover in 27 minutes. He also did a great job of moving the ball and playing hard defensively.
It was just one game, but Tatum looked like Tatum, just with much more volume. And that is something that Celtics fans should be ecstatic about.
Jayson Tatum already showed Celtics fans what could come
I was most impressed by Tatum's scoring. He was efficient from the field, and he was the second-highest scorer of the game (Payton Pritchard scored 25 points in 24 minutes), but it was also largely about how he was getting those points that stood out to me the most.
Maybe I just needed a reminder of the real version of Tatum (we didn't get that much last season), but I thought he looked way more comfortable with the ball in his hands and getting to his spot. He was getting to the basket at ease, and he was also making pull-up jumpers and shooting the ball well from the outside. Tatum just looked aggressive with the ball in his hands, and that's a great thing.
It's also not like he was just scoring in iso or by creating his own shot. The St. Louis native was also scoring off the pass and in transition. These are all elements of Tatum's game we're used to seeing, but it's incredibly promising that he still looked this good while taking on a much bigger role.
It didn't take long for Celtics fans to get a glimpse of what No. 1 option Tatum hoops is going to look like this season, and in the little sneak peek we got, it looks magical. He looked incredible, comfortable, and confident, and he looks ready to be Boston's clear-cut top guy.
We'll see how this holds up against more real competition and over the course of a season, but there are reasons for Celtics fans to be excited about Tatum this upcoming season. Boston's system is built around him and his strengths, and there is a very real chance that he is about to level up and have his best NBA season to date.
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