After he scored 50 points to help the Celtics overcome Washington in the play-in game, I wrote how the greatness of Jayson Tatum could mask many of the hurdles Boston continues to face.
Jaylen Brown might be out, and other Celtics might be hobbled, but if Tatum could be at his best enough to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Kevin Durant, the realm of possibilities certainly expanded.
“(Tatum) has in the past 14 months become the kind of incendiary talent whose capacity to rain fire from all over the court can at least give Boston a puncher’s chance against the elite,” wrote The Ringer’s Dan Devine following the play-in victory.