“I think he’s playing really good, they have a really good system there, and he’s really driving that system…. I think he’s a superstar.” When a 3x MVP like Nikola Jokic gives the ultimate praise to Jayson Tatum, then you know that the Celtics player isn’t one to be underestimated. Then again, it’s not all that surprising given the defending champ continues to be a valuable contributor with averages of 27.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. However, after the recent loss against the Eastern Conference’s top seeding team, Joe Mazzulla might have an additional responsibility to place on his star player.

The best of the Eastern and the Western Conference recently locked horns as the Boston Celtics faced off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The matchup remained relatively close throughout the first 3 quarters. In the end, however, Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Co. walked away with the win through a 118-112 score. Amidst the loss, however, one thing that stood out was Jayson Tatum properly utilizing the ‘pick-and-roll’. A reporter brought this up during Joe Mazzulla’s post-game presser. When asked if more of those could be seen in the future, the coach agreed.

“Yeah I mean, whether…. I thought he what…. we’ll see what his pick and roll rate was tonight, but I thought he generated great looks for himself, you know, and for others throughout the game,” said Mazzulla. “Depending upon how he was being defended, but you know, we’ll take a look at his pick and roll rate”.

The remarks by Joe Mazzulla were made in the same presser in which he did an autopsy over what led to the Celtics’ loss. The head coach believed that the team got great looks, and that the shot quality of 1.18 wasn’t too bad. Although… few alleged silly mistakes allowed OKC to secure victory.

The Cs’ head coach expanded upon them by highlighting how his players “follow a three-point shooter at the end of the quarter. We jump on a pump fake, you know, don’t show our hands on a tendency drive, you know”.

All those mistakes led to the Celtics gifting at least 35 free throws to OKC. SGA himself shot 11 free throws, with 10 of them going through the hoop. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum and Co. shot only 12 free throws. The OKC squad certainly could not have become the top-seeding team on the Western Conference if they couldn’t fool their rivals with pump fakes and other distraction tactics. However, the fact that the defending champions fell for it raises some concerns.

“Just, there’s a level of physicality that you have to play with. You also have to do your best, to defend without falling,” Mazzulla added. “So just a small balance there, but definitely ones that we could take away”.

The Celtics squad will certainly take note of lessons they learned from this loss in their upcoming games. At the same time, Mazzulla being open about utilizing more of Jayson Tatum’s ‘pick-and-rolls’ is a good sign. After all, the star player often highlights how efficient he can be when utilizing this play.

Case in point: during a Celtics-76ers game back in February, JT set the offense tone with his reads in the pick-and-roll. He reportedly collapsed the Sixers’ defense time and time again to set up his teammates for easy looks. This allowed him to set a game-high 10 assists amid his triple-double. 20 of Boston’s 25 field goals, made in the first half, were assisted with Tatum (7) and Jaylen Brown (5) leading on that particular front. By the time the game concluded, the Celtics had 33 assists on 43 makes!

The only way that Tatum can utilize his pick-and-roll plays is if his teammates are in sync with him and vice versa. But that wasn’t all the Boston superstar had to say to his teammates.

Jayson Tatum indirectly asks the Celtics squad to be careful on the offense: “That’s how it’s going to be in the playoffs.”

Having secured one championship win, the next step would be to record a two-peat. The team is currently on the correct path to accomplish just that, as they occupy the 2 seed on the Eastern Conference chart. Before their loss against OKC, Mazzulla and his men had won 12 of their last 15 games. However, to compete against franchises who will make it to the post-season, a different attitude will have to be adopted—a fact that Jayson Tatum recognized, and wants his players to know.

“I mean, you’re not going to keep them off the line. They’re very intentional about that. And they have been all season. So, we’re not going to be the first team where they shoot 5 free throws or something crazy like that. There is a balance between that and 35 free throws. Granted, some of them were fouls. Some of them we’ve got to be better at. But I’m not saying that’s why we lost or it’s the refs’ fault or anything like that. That’s what you want. You want a physical game. That’s how it’s going to be in the playoffs. So, yeah, you want to match that intensity. And you just want it to be the same on both sides,” said Tatum during the post-game presser.

Being the 2 seed, the Boston Celtics have the next best chance of qualifying for the playoffs. Therefore, unlike other teams, their efforts aren’t focused on getting there. It is focused on getting through it. While they could lose again in the coming days, both Jayson Tatum and Joe Mazzulla know that what happened against OKC should not happen again.