One of the best games of the week took place Monday night as Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics topped Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies 109-106. Both teams are among the best in their conferences, and the expected good action in this one did not disappoint.
NBA analyst Jalen Rose was impressed with the Celtics and their prospects this season.
“It was the Celtics holding off a Ja Morant late rally and Jayson Tatum playing his way into the MVP conversation,” Rose said. “I like how the Celtics solidified their backcourt over the last couple of years with (Derrick) White and then this offseason adding (Malcolm) Brogdon to go with Marcus Smart.
“So, what that did is it takes Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown out of having to create offense for themselves and everyone in each possession. So, if you notice, as Jayson Tatum has gotten stronger, you see him finishing at the hoop, you see him hanging on the rim in the halfcourt, because he can now look at it, he can now play through contact.
“That’s an improvement in his game. Also, it’s always good to see seasoned veteran Al Horford out there giving him quality minutes.”
But Rose is concerned about one issue with the Grizzlies:
“The one thing I’ll say about the Grizzlies, I know what I’m going to get from Ja and (Desmond) Bane and (Dillon) Brooks, but I feel like they’re going to need one more player up front that’s going to give them constant numbers. And I know they’re without Triple J (Jaren Jackson Jr.), which is, huge.
“But to create that level of balance is just going to take pressure off of Ja.”
