Jayson Tatum has evolved his game in just about every way possible since joining the Boston Celtics in 2017. In doing so, he has joined the conversation of being a top-five player in the NBA and it’s due to the incredible amount of work and determination he’s dedicated to improving himself for the Celtics and the rest of the NBA.

One of the elements Tatum needed to work on was his passing and facilitating the offense- being more of a team-player. It’s fair to say in year five, the game slowed down for Tatum and he’s seeing the court differently on offense. And as a result, the Celtics have been able to reap the benefits from it.

Tatum had a monster first half in the Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, one that put him in a Celtics record. In doing so, he became the first Celtics player to score 20 points and dish-out five assists in the first half of a playoff game since Rajon Rondo did it in 2012, ironically also against the Heat.

Jayson Tatum is the 1st Celtics player with 20 points and 5 assists in 1st half of playoff game since Rajon Rondo in 2012, who was also playing at Miami that night. pic.twitter.com/UcC9YK6Npd

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 18, 2022

Game 2 of the ECF is Thursday at 8:30PM in Miami.

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