Following an incredible run in the second half of the 2021-22 NBA regular season, the Boston Celtics finished second in the Eastern Conference, heading into the postseason. Their reward for this stellar play was a first-round matchup with the Brooklyn Nets.
Despite making their way through the play-in tournament, Brooklyn was the one team nobody wanted to face. Led by Durant and a full-time Kyrie Irving, they had the star power to pull off an upset. In the end, they proved to be a non-issue for Jayson Tatum and the Celtics.
Thanks to a 116-112 victory in Game 4, Boston completed a sweep and is moving on to the conference semifinals. What was first expected to be a must-watch set of games ended up being an ugly beatdown?
One thing this series did have is two of the league’s premier scorers. When it comes to elite-level scoring on the wing, few players should be mentioned above Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum.
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During the Celtics’ beatdown of the Nets, Paul Pierce took to Twitter to share some of his thoughts. He feels this series was Durant passing the torch to Tatum.
While Durant was still one of the game’s best players this season, Pierce could be on to something. We may have just witnessed the beginning of a shift to the next generation.
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At 24-years-old, Tatum is still a few years away from his prime. That being said, he is on his way to being a top-ten player in the league. In the sweeping of the Nets, Tatum averaged 29.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.8 steals while shooting just under 46% from the field.
The Boston Celtics’ success stems from a collective effort on both ends, but Tatum’s ascension into superstardom is another major catalyst. After how they performed in round one, the Celtics look like a team who go toe-to-toe with the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks.
