The best thing I heard about Jayson Tatum this offseason
Danny Green called Tatum the Tim Duncan of wings and I love it. Jesus, I got Duncan in my pants hearing that. Because it sounds right.
Let’s back up. There is a lot of talk about Kendrick Perkins comment this week that no one fears the Celtics. First of all check your diapers you bitches and listen to the whole clip. Perk is reflecting on what the league thinks. He also kinda contradicts himself saying no one is afraid because they went out and added help.
The 76ers and the Knicks adding help to the roster specifically to compete with the Celtics to me would signify they are worried about the team from Boston. To me this sounds like Perk being a profession troll, aka modern day media personality, and you fools falling for it, but I digress.
The reason the sentiment about the Celtics is that no one fears them is because Tatum is not perceived as Steph or Lebron or Kobe. Tatum projects as a isolation wing player. Frankly he has marketed himself that way too. But, as his career progresses we are seeing his skill is more diverse. Especially on a loaded Celtics roster is as been asked to spread his talent across mulitple basketball disciplines. He’s not Kobe, he's Duncan. Which is fan fucking-tastic. Tim Duncan is one of the greatest leaders and all around performers in NBA history. Arguably he’s the greatest PF all time. The 4 rings speak for themselves. He made the careers of Parker and Ginobili. He launched Khawi and got The Admiral his rings too. There is nothing not to like about being Tim Duncan. Unless you wanna be Kobe.
The only problem with this scenario is Tatum and his mentality and ambition. He can fuck this all up with a selfish approach towards an MVP or finals MVP, or wanting to be Kobe, face of the league, etc..
But, if he can just put his head down and keep winning, history will look favorably on him. If he can look past the immediate urge to grasp for headlines his Celtics teams can make a mark on NBA history. It is his team. Jaylen Brown is awesome. Brown is under appreciated around the league. His mentality is the perfect counter to Jayson Tatum’s mild manor level head. But, make not mistake. This is Tatum’s team. He is the best player. Everything they do on the court starts with Tatum. Specifically on offense. Despite the lack of hardware, Tatum was the best player for the Celtics in the finals. Period. He just did it the way Duncan did it. Quietly and efficiently cutting down the opponents with heady play making and stout defense. It takes time for people to realize impact like that. Especially in this tik tok era of kids who grew up with Bron and Steph.
No one grew up wanting to be Tim Duncan, but if Tatum can accept that reality the Celtics are going to be a problem in the league for a long time. Just don’t follow his lead at the barber shop.
