"The best offensive-offensive player in the world"?
Pierce sure: Taitum has already overtaken Durant
The Celtics star excels on both sides of the field in the playoffs and jumps a notch to the major leagues: "doing unprecedented things."
The main victim is KD, who gets lost and "looks like someone who has long since given up"
Walla!
sport
24/04/2022
Sunday, 24 April 2022, 10:20
Share on Facebook
Share on WhatsApp
Share on Twitter
Share on Email
Share on general
Comments
Comments
Boston celebrates victory over Brooklyn in Game 3 (from the official Celtics Twitter)
Once upon a time, in the not-too-distant past, Jason Taitum saw Kevin Durant as a role model.
When playing with Kyrie Irving, he adopted him as a mentor.
Tonight (Saturday through Sunday) he scored more than both, marched Boston to victory in Brooklyn, and proved once again that with all due respect and hype around the two Hunts superstars, he is the true star of the series.
Taitum was simple everywhere: he scored 39 points (personal playoff record), grabbed 6 balls (personal playoff record), handed out 6 assists, dropped 5 rebounds - and if that wasn't enough, was also Durant's main stopper, stopping at just 16 points. With 11 shots.
By comparison, a stat line like the one he recorded tonight was recorded by only two players before him in the playoffs - Michael Jordan and Rick Barry.
He is also the Celtics' first player since Dyke Coins 40 years ago, reaching 30 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals per game.
"Jason Taitum may be the best defensive-offensive player in the NBA right now. It's him, Yannis, or Ambide. One of the three," Celtics reporter Mark Damico tweeted.
"I hope people understand what he's doing in this series. He's leading Boston on points and assists on offense, and still leading Kevin Durant's stop on the other side of the field. These are unprecedented things."
More on Walla!
Boston went up to a huge 0: 3 over Brooklyn, overcoming spoilers Doncic's comeback
To the full article
For now it is not forces.
Tatum over Durant (Photo: GettyImages, Al Bello)
More on Walla!
Boston went up to a huge 0: 3 over Brooklyn, overcoming spoilers Doncic's comeback
"Amazing how he does it": Chris Paul's solo show
America X: International takeover of our NBA season pick
Natural and home treatment for knee pain - with reimbursement from the health insurance fund
Since the Celtics gave up on Merkel Poltz and selected Taitum in the 2017 draft, they have hoped to turn him from an intriguing attacking player to an entire player capable of being dominant on both sides of the pitch.
In the series opposite Brooklyn, the vision is fully realized.
"I get better as I get older, especially on defense," Taitum analyzed at the end.
"In my first year in the league, my body was still not very developed. Since then I have become very strong. It helped me a lot that in my first year with Brad Stevens, the way to earn minutes was through defense. I wanted to be on the field, so I realized I had to specialize in that field. "Being a whole player. Not many people are able to do that, I wanted to differentiate myself."
"Because he's so talented on offense, Jason is not getting enough credit for his defense," Boston coach Aime Yuduka claims.
"He allows us to be the No. 1 defensive team in the league, he's an integral part of our defensive identity, and in this series he takes on a big challenge in keeping Durant. Yes, he's fantastic in this series, but he's fantastic all season."
Taitum proves how good he is so far in the playoffs, and the compliments accordingly.
"He's one of the top ten players in the league, and if you do not consider him one, you are wrong," wrote Drew Hanlan, the personal trainer of many NBA stars, including Taitum himself.
According to Celtics legend Paul Pierce, Taitum has already overtaken Durant.
"I believe we see before our eyes how he overtakes KD in the NBA hierarchy."
Danny Ainge's vision is coming true.
Taitum (Photo: GettyImages, Al Bello)
And while Tatum blossoms, Durant crashes.
After finishing the game tonight with just 16 points and 11 shots from the field, he stands on very disappointing numbers in the playoffs.
Overall, Durant scores just 28 percent off the arc in the series, and just 31 percent from the field.
Some claim he has already given up - even before tonight's game.
"Boston made Durant give up. He had no interest in tonight's game. I doubt he even wanted to play," Kendrick Perkins killed, and ESPN reporter Jeff Goodman added, "I've watched Durant play since the age of 15, and in this series I just do not recognize him. "I've never seen him so out of place, but you have to give Jason Taitum and Boston a lot of credit. They totally threw him off balance."
Durant, for his part, explains that "I just think too much. It happens to be the length of this series. It's something in my approach to the game. We still have a chance to correct, and I'm waiting for it."
Losing it?
Durant (Photo: GettyImages, Al Bello)
He said the low number of shots he took tonight had to do with the fact that in the first two games of the series I felt I was trying to be too aggressive. "That we will try to win it together, that I will get into my own pace slowly, through what the defense gives me. But I may think too much, it happens to me sometimes. I just have to get on the floor and play my game, without thinking."
Brooklyn coach Steve Nash is confident that Durant's difficulties are a product of "a little of everything" - both physical attrition (after leading the Nets in the regular season, when Kyrie Irving was not playing), both mental exhaustion, and the Celtics' iron defense.
But Durant disagrees with him.
"I don't think I'm exhausted in any way. I'm hungry, I'm ready, my body does not hurt. I would not blame it."
Durant says that "maybe I should throw more, because we all understand what we are heading towards in the next game. No speech or any other stick will work at this point. We are 3-0 behind, and another loss will end our season. That's enough for us all to come At the height of sharpness and aggression for Game 4 ".
sport
NBA
Tags
Jason Taitum
Kevin Durant