The Boston Celtics have been one of the biggest disappointments in the NBA by underachieving standards based on the expectation that they'd run away with the Eastern Conference, and we may have found one of the reasons why.


Although the Boston Celtics are ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring defense, when young star  Jayson Tatum is on the floor, their defense gets significantly worse, by a whole 16 points per 100 possessions! 

That kind of outlandish number cuts down his 25.8 points scored per 100 possessions, making him worth closer to just 10 points on the floor, way below what Boston is looking for out of their 20-year-old forward. 


Now, granted, that number only applies to losses, but that means that when the going gets tough, Tatum does not make the necessary adjustments defensively and ends up digging his team deeper into a hole. 

Luckily for Boston, Tatum is still incredibly young and is still improving and developing each and every game, so one can hope this will be fixed over time.


However, the Celtics are a team that needs to win now, so the