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Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum has been on an absolute tear this season. Despite sitting behind Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the MVP race, Tatum has been phenomenal. He is averaging a career-high in both points per game and free throw percentage, at 31.6 and 87.3% respectively.
The Boston Celtics (18-4) have the best record in the league. The Milwaukee Bucks (15-5) are 2.0 games behind them in second, and the Cleveland Cavaliers (14-8) are third in the East.
Tatum recently continued his dominant run this week when the team defeated the Miami Heat 134-121. Given that Jimmy Butler, Victor Oladipo and Dewayne Dedmon were all injured, Heat veteran Udonis Haslem played nine minutes. As a nineteen-season Miami veteran, Haslem struggled to keep up with the young Celtics squad.
Haslem finished with a +/- rating of -7, and missed both of his field goal attempts. The problems only continued on the defensive end, where Haslem was left baffled by Jayson Tatum. Unsurprisingly, NBA fans quickly took to Twitter to weigh in on the situation, roasting Haslem for struggling against the young Celtic.
https://twitter.com/DrewHanlen/status/1598120474227376128
Below you can see some highlights from the Celtics win over the Heat.
Jayson Tatum's revenge tour & the Celtics top the Eastern Conference
Last season, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics lost to the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. It marked the end of an incredibly successful season that saw the team reach the Finals for the first time since 2010. Despite the loss to the Warriors, the team retained most of their core roster and continues to be competitive.
With Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both healthy, they were re-joined by Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart. They also held on to important role players Al Horford and Grant Williams.
Boston acquired Malcolm Brogdon in the offseason. Despite being a starter for the Indiana Pacers, Brogdon is averaging 14.4 points per game for Boston off the bench.
Unfortunately for the team, their biggest pickup of the offseason, Danilo Gallinari, suffered a torn ACL during the FIBA World Cup. While representing Italy, Gallinari suffered an injury just over a month after signing with the Celtics that could sideline him for the entire season.
Despite that, as he explained at the time, he's eager to make a return later this season to help the Celtics make a playoff push. He wrote about the situation on his Instagram shortly after the injury.
"This has been a tough week for me as I have learned the extent of my injury. This game means everything to me and not being able to be on the court with my Celtics teammates hurts. I plan to give everything I can to the Celtics organization and my teammates as we hunt for a title," said Gallinari.
The Celtics host the Heat again on Friday. Below you can see highlights from Tatum's 49-point double-double in the recent win over the Heat.
Guess the Lakers players!
