Jayson Tatum’s season debut was far from pristine, but there’s no reason to panic

Before Tuesday’s season-opening matchup with the Pistons, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters that he doesn’t believe we have seen the best version of Jayson Tatum yet.

Well, after a dreadful 6-for-23 shooting performance in a 121-113 loss, we still haven’t seen the best version of Tatum. But we did see a glimpse into what Mazzulla meant, at least conceptually.

Even when his shot is off, Tatum still leaves his imprint all over the game. He racked up 11 assists, organized the Celtics on both ends and took the right shots more often than not. Tatum draws so much attention that it leaves other guys, like Paul George, open for easy looks.

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The reality is that Tatum’s poor shooting night – which included an 0-for-7 showing from 3-point range and a 1-of-10 performance in the second half – was a major reason why they lost the game. It might have even been the No. 1 reason in this particular instance, which isn’t true very often.

“I mean, it felt good,” Tatum told reporters, referring to his shot. “Definitely not one of my best nights, obviously. I just have to play better.”

This is a classic case where we all have to brush it aside and assume it’s an outlier, rather than the start of a trend. If it does become a trend, the Celtics may have a problem, but chances are it won’t. Give him a chance to get situated.

It will be fascinating to watch how Tatum handles his first season as the true undisputed alpha. As evidenced by George’s 38-point explosion, he still has a sidekick, but it’s Tatum’s team and the Celtics will go as far as he takes them.

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Even with George’s brilliance, defenses can still key in on Tatum more now than they could when he played alongside Jaylen Brown. At this stage in his career, George is predominantly a shooter (and still an elite one, if Tuesday is any indication), but he doesn’t have the same explosiveness as Brown.

Defenses are able to guard George 1 on 1, then double Tatum when the time is right. It’s up to him to make the right read. He did more often than not, but he didn’t have a lot to show for it offensively. Tatum, as usual, took ownership and put the blame…

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Publish date : 2026-10-20 22:41:00

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