With all the stars featured in this first round series between the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets, Jayson Tatum shone the brightest in Game 3. Tatum dropped his second 50-piece chicken-nugget burger in the postseason (play-in included) to lift the Celtics to a season-saving 125-119 victory over the star-studded Nets.
The 23-year old became the third youngest player ever to score 50 points in NBA playoff history. His incandescent performance managed to outlast similarly stellar performances from Nets superstars James Harden and Kevin Durant. The Beard led Brooklyn with a team-high 41 points, while KD was not far behind with 39 points himself.
Tatum's 50-piece has finally inserted Boston into this series against Brooklyn. But what does this specifically mean for them moving forward? Does this give them some hope that they can do the impossible and slay the juggernaut Nets in the opening round? Should Tatum score 50 every night the rest of the way if they want to take down Brooklyn?
Tatum's Game 3 performance should go down the Celtics' rich history books as one of the greatest in franchise history. Still, it shouldn't mean much for how this first round series will eventually play out. It's hard to envision Brooklyn losing this series. Even if Tatum carries them with similar nights like Friday the rest of the way, the Nets' offensive firepower will still be too much to handle for the 2017 no. 3 overall pick.
So, in the grand scheme of things, what is Boston's take away from the 2-time All-Star's special night? If anything, this just showed they have one of the top-tier talents of the next generation in Jayson Tatum.
With all this talk about Luka Doncic and Zion Williamson being the future of the NBA, Jayson Tatum should be right smack in that conversation. The Celtics have someone really special here with this kid. Dare I say, a generational talent? The scary part about it for the rest of the NBA, he's only going to get better.
Boston will most likely be on the way to vacation sometime next week. On paper, it will be a major step back for a squad that made the conference finals just a year ago. Still, the Celtics shouldn't hang their hat on the disappointment of an early playoff exit because for one, they are facing one of the best bets to win the NBA title this season in the Nets and they are doing so while missing their other All-Star wing in Jaylen Brown. More importantly, as they look at the bigger picture, the Celtics have one of the best young stars in Jayson Tatum to build around over the next decade.
Tatum and Brown seem to be the perfect wing duo for Beantown. So far, in their very young careers, the two have proven that they can lead the Celtics to deep playoff runs, just like they did in Tatum's rookie season where they surprisingly took LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals. They also showed that in the Orlando Bubble last year when they led Boston to a conference finals appearance.
And while this season has been a disappointment overall, the Celtics future will be bright over the next decade, especially with a superstar like Tatum leading the way. Danny Ainge still has some serious work to do this offseason to build a better championship supporting cast around Tatum. Nonetheless, the core blocks to build the infrastructure are already in place for the Celtics.
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