Technically speaking, Jayson Tatum’s first taste of the 2025-26 NBA season came on the opening possession of the Boston Celtics’ win against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night. Seconds into the game, he caught the ball on the left wing and then rifled a crosscourt pass to Sam Hauser, wide open for a 3 that didn’t go in. To me, though, the first time it felt like I was watching the Tatum of old—in sync with a Celtics team that’s evolved into a near-dominant outfit without him—came with a little over nine minutes left in the third quarter. In the clip above, Tatum generates two points for the Celtics without even touching the ball. As soon as he cuts to the middle of the floor off a flare screen set by Neemias Queta, the Mavericks panic. Instead of having Khris Middleton and Max Christie execute a peel switch—in which Christie would come off the corner to pick up Tatum and Middleton would rotate over to Derrick White in the corner—Christie and Dwight Powell both track Boston’s star forward out to the wing.
Published: March 9, 2026 1:02 pm
Source: The Ringer — Read original