Jayson Tatum will be thrust into the leadership role if Kemba Walker can’t stay healthy deep in the NBA restart Playoffs.
Health is the main focus of all NBA teams at the moment. While winning the championship is important, maintaining a healthy body is more vital. As such, NBA teams are taking their life inside the bubble day by day. The league is always on the brink of another suspension. Therefore, all players and staff are looking after their health.
While the lookout for the virus is heightened, some players are still recovering from their injuries before the shutdown. Not much has been heard from Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics. Earlier reports indicate that he’s still dealing with nagging knee discomfort. However, later ones show that he’s working out just fine.
Jayson Tatum to lead the Celtics
Now more than ever, Jayson Tatum will need to step up to the ranks as the team leader. If Kemba goes down, the team will lose their floor general. However, the load will not be Tatum’s task alone. Head coach Brad Stevens will most likely distribute the scoring burden across his forward-heavy team.
The young Duke University forward is averaging career-high numbers this season. His stats are 23.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while shooting at 44% from the field.
Considering Tatum’s young career, he’s been through quite a lot. In the 2018 Playoffs, he went toe-to-toe with Lebron James in a thrilling 7-game Playoffs series. Unfortunately, Lebron James and his squad were too much for the Celtics to take on.
In the 2019 Playoffs, Jayson faced another Eastern Conference beast in Giannis Antetokounmpo. The series didn’t go too far with the Bucks winning 4 to 1 in the series. However, Tatum proved that he would be forced to be reckoned with the league in the future.
Eastern Conference all-time contender
The Boston Celtics have always been a contender in the East. Unfortunately, they always meet a stumbling block along the way. As soon as Lebron James left the East, Kawhi Leonard and Giannis took over dominating the East. As such, Jayson Tatum will have to fight tooth and nail just to reach the Finals.
Also, they keep on losing key players to injuries. Some notable recent injuries include Isaiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving, and possibly Kemba Walker. As such, the entire team has to step up, which Brad Stevens will not find it hard to do. His style of coaching mimics that of Greg Popovich where he distributes the load well across the team.
Nonetheless, the star in Jayson Tatum has to emerge for them to just even get through a possible tough matchup with the 76ers.
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