DENVER — The Celtics have shifted to playing Jayson Tatum for the entirety of first quarters this season after letting Jaylen Brown set the tone in recent years. It has allowed Tatum to increase his scoring, gain and maintain early momentum in games, while Brown has made the most of his transition by captaining the second unit and focusing on playmaking.
It started on Opening Night when Tatum unloaded 4-of-6 three-point shooting over the Knicks, on his way to 37 points on 14-of-18 field goal attempts. And since — save for a few exceptions — Boston opened with Tatum to great effect.