Jayson Tatum seems to be pacing himself this season, which is similar to one of the greatest players in NBA history.

Jan 28, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) defended by Los / Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics are off to an impressive 14-4 start as of this writing, and Jayson Tatum has been leading the charge. Although Tatum has been the main leader in the Celtics hot start, he appears to have taken a small step back this season, but only a minor one. Tatum appears to be pacing himself this season and not emptying his tank early in the season.

Los Angles Lakers forward LeBron James has done that for most of the last decade, paving for the way for how to pace yourself throughout an 82 game season.

Ultimately, I wonder if Tatum has adopted the same philosophy as James.

Tatum has improved in other areas of his game, which include rebounding and decision-making, but his points are down from 30.1 last season to 27.7 this season. It also appears that Tatum is being super passive to start this season and is simply just picking times when to insert himself as a scorer. The change in play from Tatum has led to some outrage from Cs fans.

Have not been impressed with #0 one bit this season

— ☘︎ (@CelticsRepublic)

November 29, 2023

Although Tatum’s current play may not be the flashiest, he is simply doing what is needed to win games. If Tatum is truly pacing himself this season, I am on board with it because that’s what the great players do.

Once great players reach that level, they start to see the game differently, allowing themselves to simply go off whenever they want.

Jayson Tatum this season
(18 games played)

27.7 ppg | 8.8 rpg | 4.1 apg
49.4% FG | 36.1% 3P | 80.7% FT pic.twitter.com/enVxl5WOZW

— Unicorn SZN ☘️ (@24celts) November 30, 2023

Jayson Tatum conserving energy for the postseason when Celtics will need him most

Undoubtedly, Tatum is conserving his energy for the postseason, when the Cs will need him the most in their Banner 18 pursuit.

If Tatum has more left in the tank this postseason than he had in the last two postseasons, it will be a scary sight for the rest of the playoff field.

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