A new star ignited in Boston during the playoffs, and his name is Jayson Tatum. More precisely, a few celestial beings have crafted their origin stories in Beantown this postseason. Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier have lit up the scoreboard inside TD Garden for 10 straight home playoff games, igniting the Celtics crowd each night.
On Wednesday, it was Tatum's turn to be the lead actor in Boston's cinematic masterpiece as a return home breathed new life into his 20-year-old legs.
He poured in 24 points (7-of-15 shooting, 3-of-7 from deep), seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks, knocking down jumpers when possessions grew stagnant, terrorizing the passing lanes and continuing to flash signs of growth as a playmaker.
Watch here as he bails the Celtics out with a veteran-like pull-up jumper late in the shot clock:
He diagnosed the hedge out of the pick and roll, delayed his attack for half a second and then created separation against Tristan Thompson by stopping on a dime.
Here's another tough jumper Tatum nailed, which feels like a cheat code for a rookie to already have in his offensive arsenal:
With shots like that coming from Tatum, LeBron might be having flashbacks to the 2011 NBA Finals when Dirk Nowitzki buried his Miami Heat squad with an avalanche of vintage one-legged fadeaways.
Tatum has picked up some playmaking duties in Kyrie Irving's absence, uncorking passes most of the NBA didn't know he had. Late in the first quarter, he threaded the needle between two Cavs defenders like a master seamstress, whirling a dime to a lumbering Aron Baynes:
His defensive instincts, another wrinkle in his game that has shined bright all season, were on full display with four thefts on Wednesday. He was discretionary when hunting for steals, rarely gambling in the passing lanes and leaving teammates to scramble and cover for his mistakes.
His best takeaway of the night came in the third quarter when Kevin Love picked up his dribble on the baseline and found himself with nowhere to go:
As soon as Love pivoted to face the perimeter, Tatum zipped over to eliminate LeBron as a safety valve. Love hurled the pass anyway, Tatum got a paw on it and scored in transition.
Some of Tatum's most impressive plays, though, didn't make it into the box score. Below, he throws a wrench into Cleveland's floppy action by stonewalling Kyle Korver:
The question Boston is staring in the face as it travels to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland for Game 6 is whether or not the newly born stars, Tatum included, can shine away from Boston.
In three home playoff games this series, Tatum is averaging 17.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 steals on 60.1 percent true shooting. On the road against the Cavs, he's provided a similar scoring pop with 17.5 points a night (58.3 percent TS), but the peripheral stats have been lagging, averaging just 1.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and zero steals.
It's been an odd trend as Tatum's game hasn't been hindered by crossing state lines during the postseason. On the whole, he's actually been a more productive and efficient scorer away from TD Garden.
- Home splits: 17.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals on 56.6 percent TS
- Road splits: 19.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.7 steals on 58.4 percent TS
For Rozier, who's looked like an above-average starting point guard in Boston, there's a clear chasm in his home and road play, particularly as a scorer:
- Home: 18.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals on 58.0 percent TS
- Road: 13.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.4 steals on 47.5 percent TS
Strangely enough, Rozier's been better on the road than at home during the Eastern Conference Finals (14.5-4.5-6.5-2.0 on 49.7% TS a night vs. 13.0-6.0-4.0-1.5 on 40.2% TS). The other half of Boston's leading quartet, Brown and Al Horford, have also seen their output diminish once they step into the opposing arena, especially Horford:
As BBALLBREAKDOWN's very own Shane Young articulated, it's almost like the Celtics are sending two entirely different squads onto the floor, looking like dominant world-beaters at home and undermanned bottom-feeders on the road:
Celtics at home in the playoffs:
• 10-0
• 110.5 offensive rating
• 99.8 defensive rating
• +10.7 Net
• 56.9% True ShootingCeltics on the road in the playoffs:
• 1-6
• 99.0 offensive rating
• 110.6 defensive rating
• -11.6 Net
• 51.0% True Shooting— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) May 24, 2018
Game 6 might be Boston's best chance to advance to the NBA Finals, even with a potential Game 7 in TD Garden looming. Cleveland's been marginally better on the road during the playoffs (1.0 net rating at home, 1.1 on the road), mitigating some of the traditional homecourt advantage, and LeBron showed outward signs of fatigue in Game 5.
Most importantly, though, is that since signing with the Heat before the 2010-11 season, LeBron is 4-0 in Game 7s. Hunting for his eighth consecutive Finals cameo in a building that's provided some of the valleys and peaks of his career, it's difficult to see a LeBron-led, veteran-laden club fall, even on the road, to an inexperienced, albeit rich with talent, team.
Playoff LeBron is a beast in and of itself. Game 7 LeBron, who's seemingly always supercharged, is an unstoppable force meeting the immovable object that has been the Celtics at home this postseason.
The age-old adage that role players perform better at home has held true for both Boston and Cleveland this series. Tatum nor Horford are middling role players, and both were stars in Game 5, just as Rozier and Brown have been at various points during this playoff run.
It takes light years for light to reach distant galaxies. To send The King packing, the Celtics might need their newly minted stars — Tatum, Rozier and Brown — to shine through in Cleveland tonight.
All stats and videos via NBA.com and are accurate as of May 25.
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