Boston Celtics: 5 reasons why they will make a run to the NBA Finals

Jayson Tatum is a 20-year-old superstar in the making

Much like with Jaylen Brown, many were quick to criticize Jayson Tatum for a “disappointing” sophomore campaign. But was it really disappointing? Or did he just not have the same freedom that he had last season, especially after the knee injury to Kyrie Irving.

Look, 15.7 points on 45 percent shooting from the field, 37.3 percent from behind the arc and, my favorite of the three, 85.5 percent from the charity stripe, are strong numbers for a second-year player. Even more special is how he’s become the second-best shooter on Boston’s roster, behind Irving, the team’s best player.

He’s done this in many ways, most notably by changing his shot selection. In the season’s first few weeks, many were quick to question why he was taking such terrible shots and not trying to get better looks. As Hashtag Basketball’s Jeremy Stevens wrote in early November:

"“Many of the Celtics’ role players have had some head-scratching inconsistencies on display throughout the season, but none is more apparent to me than Jayson Tatum.”"

Many of us felt that way as well.

Until the second half of the season. A second half where he began to cut to the basket more, use his dribbles wisely, and really look like the guy Boston thought they were getting when they drafted him.

And sure, it was Indiana who got matched up with the Celtics in the first-round. But Tatum scorched his matchups in all aspects of the game, so much so that he shot better from 3 than he did from the entire field. Normally it wouldn’t be too much of a story, but he was the youngest player in that series.

He’s playing the best basketball of his season and he couldn’t have picked a better time to do it.