How an aggressive Jayson Tatum and ball movement transformed the Celtics’ play

The shakeup at the trade deadline and recent good habits have Boston winning seven of their last 10 games, and Tatum in rarified air.

Aggressive play — or the lack of it — has been one of several serious issues with the Boston Celtics’ play this season, and a recent uptick in its application has been a significant part of the Celtics’ recent success, having won three games in a row and seven of their last ten contests.

And it’s exactly this aspect of Boston’s recent returns that The Athletic’s Jared Weiss points to as a key catalyst in helping elevate All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum’s play to East Player of the Week-worthy, which the St. Louis native secured the honor of being after a seven-day stretch punctuated by a historic, 53-point game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 9.

Noting that Tatum’s COVID recovery appears to be “finally turning the corner,” the former Celtics Wire chief laid out how upping the team’s assist ante has improved the Duke product’s play.