Jayson Tatum’s role with the Boston Celtics is pretty self-explanatory.
He’s the face of the franchise. It’s the territory that comes with being a silky-smooth scorer, as Boston routinely relies on him to be the No. 1 option, especially on the offensive end where he can get a bucket from just about anywhere on the court.
He might be taking on a new role entering Game 3 against the Indiana Pacers, however. The Celtics could try giving him some minutes at the five.
It seems to be something that has been talked about, at least.
“I mean, at this point in season, whatever you got to do to help the team win,” Tatum said Saturday, via Justin Turpin of WEEI. “It doesn’t feel unnatural, but it is something different that we’ve worked on throughout the season in practice. It’s not like a shock.”
Boston’s frontcourt depth has taken a hit throughout the postseason, with Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet both currently on the shelf. The C’s have (and likely will continue to) relied upon Al Horford heavily, but it might not be the greatest idea to continue having a 37-year-old play his biggest minutes of the season this deep into the playoffs.
Tatum can help with that, as he has throughout different points in the season.
The Celtics can trust Tatum to play up on the defensive end, as Myles Turner primarily sets up on the outside when they’re in their offensive sets. It’s a luxury of sorts for Boston, who will want to take care of business early to have time for Porzingis and Kornet to get healthy in advance of a possible NBA Finals appearance.
