This season, Jayson Tatum and his team have been on top of the league, far exceeding the expectations of most people at various points
They will be going up against the Detroit Pistons tonight, who have been performing in a manner that is diametrically opposed to what the Celtics are doing right now.
In any event, what is most important is the situation and how both teams adapt to the ever-changing nature of the face they are playing against.
To begin, Tatum and the rest of the Celtics have been absolutely incredible on both ends of the court. JT and his All-Star partner Jaylen Brown are leading the team’s offense, which has broken all-time records set by NBA duos in the past and in the present.
Jaylen Brown is also a member of the All-Star team. The Celtics have a roster filled with just as many talented defenders as they do offensive players, which allows them to strike the ideal balance between the two.
As far as the Pistons go, they have been struggling to figure out a working system. A few attempts were made to acquire former MVP Russell Westbrook, but the Pistons were not too keen on losing their existing pieces.
However, both teams are currently looking forward to putting on a show for their audience at the TD Garden. Boston fans are expected to bring the heat as the Pistons look to defeat the Celtics at home.
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Jayson Tatum: Is He Playing Against The Pistons?
Boston has already been crippled with an injured Jaylen Brown. Even then, they have been bringing their A-game every night in order to retain the Eastern Conference throne.
Fortunately enough, both Jayson Tatum, as well as Marcus Smart, will be starting against the Pistons. This may be a nightmare waiting to unleash its wrath on the 15th-seeded team.
The Celtics have nothing much to be worried about as Jayson Tatum is making a return. So once he is back, they will return to their path of undying success.
The warriors in green were on an impressive four-game win streak before losing against the Milwaukee Bucks. This again was mainly due to Tatum’s absence.
The Pistons have not had any injury-related changes in their roster besides the existing ones. They still await the presence of Marvin Bagley and Cade Cunningham who have barely been seen around in Detroit uniforms. To the Celtics, this could be a walk in the park unless Joe Mazzula’s magic begins to fade away.
Can Pistons Earn Redemption Against the Celtics?
Detroit may be in a bit more trouble than the last time as Marcus Smart is making an appearance on the court.
Not to mention, Smart won the defensive player of the year award and has the potential to annihilate anyone trying to get past him. In their last matchup, the Celtics pinned them down defensively.
The Celtics shot much better from the three-point range averaging 43.2% against Detroit’s 27.3% all due to Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser’s efforts. However, the Pistons are likely to face the same amount of pressure from the opposition, if not, more. The Celtics are the obvious favourites to take home a victory especially due to Smart’s return.
Jayson Tatum: Injury Report
The Hospital Celtics are getting slightly healthier ahead of the NBA All-Star break.
Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford have all been removed from Boston’s injury report and will be available to play in Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons at TD Garden.
Even Derrick White, who reportedly stayed behind in Milwaukee on Tuesday night to see an ear specialist after suffering an ear injury against the Bucks, is listed as probable vs. Detroit.
Smart’s expected return is the most notable development, as the veteran guard has missed Boston’s last 11 games since injuring his right ankle against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 21.
The Celtics lost their next three games without their starting point guard but rallied to win six of their seven thanks in large part to White, whose stellar play recently earned him Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
Wednesday is Boston’s last game until Feb. 23, so it’s possible the Celtics just want to give Smart some game action before taking a week off.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla will have his full backcourt if White plays and could afford to ease Smart back on a loose minutes restriction.
The Celtics also will be glad to have Tatum back after he missed Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Bucks with a non-COVID illness. Boston is 2-2 in the four games Tatum has missed this season.
Tip-off for Celtics-Pistons is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, with NBC Sports Boston’s coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. with “Celtics Pregame Live.”
Jayson Tatum: Bio
Jayson Tatum was born Jayson Christopher Tatum, on March 3, 1998, to Justin Tatum and Brandy Cole, in St. Louis, Missouri.
He was conceived when both his parents were 19 years old and were not married to each other. When he was born, his mother decided to raise him as a single mother. However, his father was always around to support them.
His father, Justin, was a basketball player who played for ‘St. Louis University.’ He later took up a job as a gym teacher and a basketball coach at the ‘Christian Brothers College High School’ in St. Louis.
His mother was a law graduate from ‘St. Louis University’ and practised law later. However, as an undergraduate student, she struggled to find proper financial means to raise Jayson.
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Jayson Tatum: Early Life
Jayson’s association with basketball began as a child. While his father played basketball and was also a coach, his godfather was ‘NBA’ player Larry Hughes, who was his father’s college and school teammate.
Jayson grew up to a great height, which made him apt for being a basketball player. His father, too, told him several times that he was built for basketball. This led Jayson to become interested in the sport early in his life. By the time he stepped into his teenage years, he played the game against much bigger and older players.
Jayson joined the ‘Chaminade College Preparatory’ and soon became a star of the school’s basketball team. During his high-school years, he befriended future ‘NBA’ player Matthew Tkachuk. Thus, a solid foundation was set for Jayson’s basketball career.
Jayson Tatum: College Career
In 2016, Jayson enrolled at ‘Duke University.’ During his debut college season (2016–2017), he missed out on a few games in the beginning, owing to a foot injury. He eventually made his debut in December 2016. In his debut match, he scored 10 points to lead his team to a win over ‘Maine.’
Over the next few weeks, he consistently performed well to lead his team to victories over major teams such as ‘Florida,’ ‘Georgia Tech,’ and ‘Miami.’
His team, the ‘Duke Blue Devils,’ entered the ‘ACC Tournament Championship’ finals in March 2017. In the finals, Duke defeated the ‘Notre Dame Fighting Irish’ to win the championship. Jayson scored 19 points and 8 rebounds in the match, thus playing a decisive role in his team’s championship victory.
Tatum’s average throughout the tournament was 22.0 points per game. Hence, he was named to the ‘All-ACC Tournament Team.’
Despite winning the ‘ACC Tournament,’ Duke’s performance during the ‘NCAA Tournament’ was far from good.
Duke was exiled in the second round itself. However, Jayson’s personal performance was exceptional, as he scored an average of 16.5 points per game.
Following a successful freshman season, Jayson decided to aim straight for the ‘NBA Draft,’ where he was projected as a first-round selection.
Jayson Tatum: NBA Career
- The ‘Boston Celtics’ general manager, Danny Ainge, made a controversial move to acquire Jayson, who was picked as number 3 overall in June 2017.
- His first tournament with the ‘Celtics’ was the 2017 ‘NBA Summer League’ event, which took place in Utah. Jayson performed according to people’s expectations and averaged 18.7 points per game, with 9.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 2.0 assists.
- He also performed brilliantly in other tournaments and was named to the ‘All-Summer League Second Team,’ alongside big names such as Bryn Forbes and Kyle Kuzma.
- He made his ‘NBA’ debut against the ‘Cleveland Cavaliers,’ in which he recorded a double-double, scoring 14 points and 10 rebounds. Despite that, his team lost the match 102–99.
- However, Jayson performed his career’s best against the ‘New York Knicks’ in October 2017, scoring 24 points and thus playing a decisive role in his team’s victory. He was named ‘Eastern Conference’s ‘Rookie of the Month’ for December 2017.
- The ‘Celtics’ entered the 2018 ‘NBA Playoffs.’ During the tournament, Jayson once again played the key role in many of his team’s victories.
- In a second-round game against the ‘Philadelphia 76ers,’ he scored 28 points, which was the all-time highest score in a playoff by a rookie playing for the ‘Celtics.’
- He also became the youngest player to score more than 20 points in four consecutive ‘NBA Playoff’ games. He then scored his fifth 20-pointer in the same tournament, claiming another record. He also became one of the two players to score 20 points in 10 games during the rookie playoffs.
- In May 2018, he was named to the ‘NBA All-Rookie First Team.’
- He has also represented his national team in many overseas tournaments. He played in the 2014 ‘FIBA Under-17 World Championship’ and the 2015 ‘FIBA Under-19 World Championship.’
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Jayson Tatum: Family & Personal Life
Jayson is a religious man. He was raised in a religious family that followed Christianity. He has credited all his success and fame to Jesus Christ.
‘NBA’ legend LeBron James has praised Jayson and said that “he’s built for stardom.”
He and his former ‘Duke’ teammate, ‘NBA’ player Harry Giles, are good friends.
Jayson has dated Samie Amos publicly for a while. However, recently, it was rumoured that the couple was about to break up. Samie confirmed it by putting up a social-media post accusing Jayson of infidelity.
It was later revealed that he had been cheating on Samie, with Toriah Lachelle. He is reportedly having a child with Toriah.
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