Jones & Keefe: We are seeing the best version of Jayson Tatum

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00:00What was Tatum's best game in the series?

00:02You gotta go with last night, I think.

00:03Or game four. The way he played down the stretch,

00:06single-handedly outscoring them

00:07over that final four.

00:08I think it was last night.

00:09So I also think it was last night.

00:10Game four, he didn't shoot well. It was almost all free throws.

00:13Just taking over, though.

00:14No, he did, but to me, last night,

00:17I know people think I'm critical of Tatum.

00:19You're probably in this group too, Terp.

00:21And I have been critical of Tatum, but I think a lot of him.

00:23And I know he's capable of stuff like what he did last night.

00:26He kept them in the game when the team

00:27could not shoot, could not score, couldn't do anything.

00:30He kept them in the game early.

00:32He had the big dunk before halftime,

00:33which helped turn the momentum

00:35along with the brainless coach on the other side,

00:37which we can get to.

00:38But he also helped open up the floodgates

00:41and kick the team into overdrive in the second half.

00:44And he shot well.

00:46And I think he showed a little bit of toughness in this series,

00:48which I don't always think he shows.

00:50So to me, last night was great.

00:52And these last three games since the wrist injury,

00:54I was pretty happy with the performance out of Tatum

00:57when we're critical of him not shooting well

00:59and scoring 18, 22 in a playoff game.

01:02Even when he's contributing rebounds and assists,

01:05this is why we're critical of that

01:06because we know he's capable of stuff like this.

01:09And this is what we've been talking about

01:09really throughout the year.

01:10Like if he's going to win MVP,

01:12it's this Jason Tatum that's going to do it.

01:13The one that's being aggressive,

01:15that's getting downhill, that's creating for others.

01:17I mean, he had a 10 assist last night.

01:18I mean, when he gets those assist numbers up,

01:20that's what's been holding him back, in my opinion,

01:22is that he hasn't had these assist numbers up.

01:24That's what's kind of been preventing him

01:26from being in serious MVP conversations.

01:28If he can do that and he can look like this,

01:30which he has shown he can,

01:31specifically since the All-Star break,

01:33he's really looked like this often since the All-Star break.

01:36This is when he breaks through and wins an MVP.

01:37This is the best Jason Tatum we've seen.

01:39And he's doing it on both ends of the floor.

01:41Like he was terrific defensively in this series as well.

01:43So this could be a really special run for Tatum

01:46when you're looking at the potential opponents they can see.

01:48I mean, he has destroyed New York this year.

01:50They've had no answer for him.

01:52They've all destroyed New York.

01:53That's the thing is, like, New York's better than Orlando,

01:56but matchup-wise, New York might be less challenging than the Magic.

02:00They are definitely, without a doubt,

02:01I think a better matchup for Boston than Orlando is.

02:04They just have no answer for themselves.

02:06Like, I would expect Porzingis to play a lot better.

02:07Much better.

02:08To your point about the physicality and just that style.

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