NBA: 5 players set up for success in 2021-22
By Kyle McKee
5 players that are set up for success heading into the 2021-22 NBA season.
Even though it’s the beginning of September, the 2021-22 NBA season is not that far away. Training camp begins September 28th and the regular season opens up on October 19th. We’re almost a month away from NBA action ladies and gentlemen!
With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to take a look at some players that could take a leap/set-up to have big years this upcoming season. Without further ado, let’s go!
NBA players set up for success in 2021-22: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
I don’t know if you’ve seen the pictures of Jayson Tatum working out this offseason, but the dude has gotten SWOLE! With this newfound muscle, I expect Tatum to improve in the one area of his game where he has struggled the most throughout his young career. That is getting to and scoring at the rim.
During his four years in the league, Tatum has too often settled for tough mid-range jumpers or pull-up threes. Instead of taking the ball to the rack and looking to get to the free-throw line, Tatum has preferred to take fadeaway post-up jumpers or pull-up threes early in the shot clock.
Through his first four years in the league, Tatum has only averaged 3.4 free throw attempts per game. Granted last year, he did improve that number to 5.3 a game, but with his newfound muscle, I see Tatum getting to the line at least eight times a game this upcoming season.
Another factor leading towards a Tatum breakout year is motivation. After a disappointing 2020-21 season, where Celtics fans would sometimes boo their own team and NBA analysts were frustrated over their lack of effort/will, I think Tatum is more motivated than ever to prove that he is a superstar in this league. Not just any star either. One that can be the best player on a championship contending team.
Now, do I expect the Celtics to be championship-level contenders this season? No I don’t. However, I do expect Boston to surprise some people. Don’t be shocked if the Celtics finish the regular season in the top four or five seeds in the Eastern Conference. The reason I see that happening has to do with how much belief I have in Tatum.
Last season in the Celtics play-in game against the Washington Wizards, the C’s were not the better team. The Wizards had more talent and were going into that game as one of the hottest teams in the league. Most NBA fans and analysts were picking the Wiz to win that game. Yet, Tatum said no to all of that.
The former Duke Blue Devil dropped a 50 burger on the Wiz and single handley willed the Celtics to victory. Then, in their first round matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, Tatum faced off against Kevin Durant and went toe-to-toe with arguably the best player in the game right now. The Celtics avoided a sweep in that series in large part due to Tatum’s excellence.
I think with the combination of the experience he gained as being the best player on a team for the first time in his career, the experience he gained playing in the Olympics and winning gold, putting on more muscle to help him better sustain the grind of a long season and the motivation of how last season ended will all lead to Tatum establishing himself as a top 10 player in the NBA.
In fact, I’ll go so far to say that Tatum will receive some MVP buzz this season and will finish in the top five for the award at the end of the season.