By the end of the Boston Celtics’ 2021-22 NBA season, superstar forward Jayson Tatum had raised his assist average to 4.4 per game, a career high. Might he continue augmenting that as the Celtics lean into an offensive identity predicated on ball movement at every position?
In the mind of Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey, who predicts the St. Louis native will average over 5 assists per contest in Boston’s 2022-23 campaign.
“During the (2022) postseason, Jayson Tatum had the ball in his hands even more, particularly at the start of possessions, and he averaged 6.2 assists through those 24 games,” recounts the B/R analyst.
“One of the team’s strengths this season should be the ability to keep opposing defenses guessing,” continues Bailey. “When Smart, Brogdon, Al Horford, and Tatum are all on the floor, initiation could come from just about anywhere.”
Celtics Lab 149: On Jayson Tatum’s 2023 MVP in NBA 2K23’s official simulation, Marcus Smart’s DPOY repeat case and more with Ronnie 2K https://t.co/B9zaeFMdxB
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 23, 2022
“Allowing Tatum to continue to operate as he did in the playoffs adds to that,” he closes, and while we think it is certainly in the realm of possibility, the early results this season have been lower than usual in terms of assists for the Duke alum.
Given he’d likely be on the cusp of his first real MVP bid, we hope Bailey nails this prediction, but in what has been a small sample so far, it seems as if it will be an uphill battle to come to fruition.
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