Tatum shines again, but Celtics fall to Spurs

It’s not everyday that a team that just won 53 games pays close attention to summer league, but after the big agreed-upon signing of Gordon Hayward and more potential moves to come, the Celtics may end up relying on the skills of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as the roster faces the possibility of losing a rotation piece in order to gain another All-Star. Tonight, the Celtics got another glimpse of what could potentially be the steal of the draft in Jayson Tatum. After an impressive 21-point debut against Markelle Fultz and the Sixers, Jayson Tatum gave the fans another strong performance with 23 points and 10 rebounds, showing the type of isolation scoring ability that will more likely than not get him on the floor.

Unfortunately, the Celtics ran up against the hot-shooting Spurs, who are apparently just as polished as the parent team. Led by a 31 point performance by Bryn Forbes, the Spurs buried the Celtics early and never looked back. Jaylen Brown struggled while taking on a new role as a ball-handler, but struggling with transition from creating your own shot from having someone create for you is a tough transition. Another guy who has struggled is Ante Zizic who for the second straight outing has looked a step too slow and out of sync. It’s possible that a bit of that has to with conditioning and the language barrier. But overall, not much mattered tonight in terms of the game, the Spurs were more poised team, and won comfortably despite some late game plays from Tatum.