AP Photo / John Minchilo
Teams are hot with the Boston Celtics, a win away from knocking the Brooklyn Nets out of the playoffs.
Celtics legend Paul Pierce tweeted after Boston’s 109-103 win in Game 3 on Saturday that Jason Tatum could overtake Kevin Durant in the NBA hierarchy:
Paul Pierce @ paulpierce34
I think Jason Tatum can beat Kevin Durant right before our eyes in the NBA hierarchy
Tatum played his most productive match in the series on Saturday with 39 points in 13 of 29 shots. He also has six assists, six stolen balls and five rebounds.
The ultimate possession of the game for the Celtics was that Tatum stole a pass from Durant and hit the ball to put an amazing sign in the victory.
NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
Jason Tatum destroys the Celtics’ victory with this theft and blow pic.twitter.com/NPLGkPNt6J
Although he averages 29.7 points per game in the series, Tatum’s defense against Durant is the story against the Nets. The Celtics star shot just 5 of 16 from the pitch in Game 2, but he did so when facing Durant:
Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
Kevin Durant when guarded by Jason Tatum in Game 2 of the NBA Tracking:
10:33 match for match
4 points
0-7 FG
3 to
1 BLK
The nets were 2-11 FG overall when protected by Tatum. He influenced the game with defense and playmaking even when he was fighting early.
Durant had just 16 points with almost as many turnovers (five) as field goals (six) in Game 3. That was his lowest score since the season since Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals in 2017, except for now. when he left Game 5 of 2019. NBA Finals in the second quarter after tearing his Achilles tendon.
While Tatum deserves credit for the work he does in defense in this series, Durant’s struggles may be due to how much he played after returning from a sprained MCL on March 3.
Nets head coach Steve Nash has made Durant play 38.6 minutes per game in the last 19 games of the regular season. He has averaged 42.8 minutes in four games between the tournament and the postseason so far.
Tatum is undoubtedly rising to superstar. Durant’s longevity makes it difficult to say that the Celtics striker has overtaken him in the NBA hierarchy, but Tatum gathers a strong argument based on how this series has played out so far.
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