Celtics Round-Up: Helio-Tatum, Sam Cassell, All-Star Weekend

My thoughts on some trending discussions/reports

Over his last three games, Jayson Tatum’s production has reached another level. He’s been more aggressive. He’s been more decisive. And most importantly, he’s been knocking down his shots at an impressive clip.

During those three outings, he’s averaging 35 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists. He’s shooting 49.4% from the field and 37.5% from deep. Put simply, Tatum has been balling.

It’s easy to blame an increase in usage rate for Tatum’s sudden uptick, and there is likely some truth to that statement. However, what’s more interesting to me has been the shift from an equal-opportunity offense to a more heliocentric one, with Tatum at the core of everything the Celtics have done on the offensive end.

For the season, Tatum is averaging 83.4 touches per game, spending 3.71 seconds on the ball per touch. Since Feb. 8, when the Celtics beat the New York Knicks, Tatum’s touches have jumped to 88.3.