Typically, it’s one thing easy that determines our destiny — a job utility despatched on a whim, a remark from a beloved one, flipping a coin. For Jayson Tatum, his destiny has been decided by the only of basketball actions. The pick-and-roll.
The Dallas Mavericks have been looking for targets for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to assault within the first two video games of this sequence. In Sport 2, they determined their destiny rested with Jayson Tatum. Time and again, up would come Tatum’s defender, set a display screen, and Tatum would swap onto certainly one of Dallas’ dynamic ball handlers. The early outcomes for Dallas had been encouraging.
However Tatum’s a sturdy, resolute defender. At the same time as he was settling into being the item of Dallas’ offensive exploitation, he wasn’t with out his victories.
He principally contained Luka, forcing him to fireplace up troublesome pictures, a lot of which he made.
A few of which he didn’t make.
On stability, it was a gutsy defensive efficiency from Tatum, who’s tasked with a large burden on that finish within the sequence. He’s guarding the middle and preventing for rebounding place, after which additionally being requested to change onto two elite ballhandlers. It’s a troublesome 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 normally, 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, recurrently manipulating Dallas’s protection, placing Irving and Doncic into matchups they’ve little success towards, 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 carried out it with belief, with an egalitarian type that doesn’t concern itself with particular person stats or benchmarks. As an alternative, the workforce solely cares in regards to the workforce. It begins with the Jays, two stars prepared to do what’s finest for the Celtics, not themselves, trusting that transferring the ball is one of the best ways 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 quite a bit much less like his private Lakers idol, Kobe Bryant, and extra like one other Lakers legend, Magic Johnson. Magic famously began at middle in a Finals clinching Sport 6. Guarding the most important man on the courtroom, whereas commanding the offense on the opposite finish. Sounds acquainted.
