Boston Celtics
Breakout candidate: Jayson Tatum
You can make the argument that Jayson Tatum has already had a breakout season, during his rookie campaign, but he is entering his third NBA season and this is the year typically where the future superstars separate themselves. If Tatum really is the real deal and a potential future all-star, this is the year where he’s going to make that known.
Tatum is coming off a season in which he averaged 15 points and six rebounds on 45 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3-point range. He somewhat took a step back in terms of his overall efficiency, but this could be a season where he corrects that back to the pace he was on during his rookie campaign.
With Kyrie Irving and Al Horford out of the picture, there’s certainly going to be more of an opportunity for a player like Tatum to really flex his offensive repertoire. And if the Boston Celtics are going to make any noise in the Eastern Conference this season, a large part of their potential success probably falls on a player like Tatum. He needs to have a big season.