JaysonTatum

Preseason question: Can Tatum get all the way back to being Tatum? When he returned last March after 10 months on the shelf, he looked impressively like himself. His efficiency initially suffered, and his shot distribution skewed farther out from the rim. But the outlines of the familiar Tatum were obvious, and you could see his sea legs return with each passing game. Tatum grew more decisive, appeared more comfortable attacking the paint, and saw his box score production climb steadily in the lead-up to the playoffs. In the five full postseason games he played before a concerning injury late in Game 6 against Philly, Tatum averaged 25, 11, and 8 on 48 percent shooting. Assuming he’s healthy, Tatum should still be one of the best players in the NBA, but the margins are thin in the league’s true upper echelon. The Celtics have less star power to spare after trading Jaylen Brown, and the East is far more competitive than it was during Tatum’s apex run. As Boston attempts to reset with a more complementary roster around its star, its future hinges on Tatum’s ceiling as a solo act.