One of the most important factors in the Boston Celtics sweeping the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference playoffs was the rise of Celtics All-Star small forward Jayson Tatum, who has become one of the league’s elite players.
The St. Louis native took his defensive game to a another level, becoming one of the primary defenders of superstar Brooklyn forward Kevin Durant on one end of the court while effectively taking him out of the game. He was also easily the most dynamic scorer of either team in the series.
Is Tatum finally among the five best players in the league? If not, how close is he? And what will he need to do to maintain that status?
The hosts of the CLNS Media “A-List” podcast recently posed this question in their breakdown of the Celtics’ sweep of the Nets; check out the video embedded above to get their takes.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
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