The Celtics opened up their season at home against the “rival” 76ers. They beat them down the same as last years playoff series against them.
The @celtics and @warriors each open up the season with home Ws! #KiaTipOff18 pic.twitter.com/7kUOBvQYnU
— NBA (@NBA) October 17, 2018
Also just like last season, Jayson Tatum was the driving force behind the Celtics success. As a precursor, I’m well aware everyone is supposed to acknowledge this Celtics squad as Kyrie’s team to keep him happy. But the fact of the matter is, it’s not. This is Jayson Tatum’s team. And furthermore, it’s about to be his league.
I’m no dummy. I get that LeBron’s the man, even though I hate every fiber of his being, and there’s still Durant and several other players most people would consider to be “better” than Tatum. But there’s a lot of players out there without the playoff experience and skill set Tatum already possesses. That will only become more exaggerated with time.
The same way the Celtics are much closer to winning a championship than people think, Tatum is much closer to the mountaintop than perceived. He proved it again on opening night.
Jayson Tatum shines in the @celtics opening night win with 23 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST! #CUsRise #KiaTipOff18 pic.twitter.com/FbWCvDGF5p
— NBA (@NBA) October 17, 2018
On a night that easily could’ve gone sour by having Embiid or Simmons take over and deem this a revenge game, Tatum stepped up. Kyrie was quiet and the next best scoring production the Celts saw was from Morris off the bench. Outside of Tatum, this game had the makings of a massive disappointment. Tatum put an emphatic end to that.
At the ripe age of 20, Tatum has the ability to be the top dog in this league, and the resume to build on to confirm it. The time has come for the NBA to be the Celtics bitch, and heading the charge will be agent zero. It’s only a matter of time.
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