The Boys of Winter: Jayson Tatum and Charlie McAvoy
Boston sports teams are absolutely spoiled when it comes to the athletes on their teams – especially the rookies and especially a certain 19 and 20-year-old.
On the Red Sox, there’s Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi.
On the Bruins, there’s 20-year-old Charlie McAvoy and Jake Debrusk.
On the Celtics, there’s the 19-year-old Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
And the Patriots have a 40-year-old quarterback who plays like a young stud every year.
But McAvoy and Tatum are something special. Unique even. There style of play for their respective sport is something out of this world because it looks as if they’ve been playing for 10-plus years.
They are both so poised, patient and they look so natural on their teams. Both Tatum and McAvoy quickly became fan favorites…and how could they not?
On the court, you have Tatum, who Danny Ainge traded DOWN in the draft to select him. In Wednesday night’s 102-91 win over the Charlotte Hornets, Tatum helped the C’s with 10 points in the fourth and played all 12 minutes.
On Dec. 20, Tatum had the league’s highest three-point percentage at 51.5. The league’s highest – not the highest on the team, not the highest in the conference – the highest in the freaking league.
His ball movement is insane, his shooting is clearly on point and he is a clutch player for this team. Again, he is just 19-years-old. The way he plays the game is that of a poised veteran, not a kid fresh out of the draft.
Tatum is only going to get better as he gets older. He’ll fill out a little bit (imagine the shoulders) and will continue to gain confidence. It sure is fun watching him on the court and get a little cocky after a big dunk. (Be cocky kid, you earned it).
There is also a song out there called, “Jayson Tatum” by La4ss. I didn’t believe it until I was actually shown it and low and behold, the first lines are, “Pull up shoot shoot, Jayson Tatum.”
The song was also released in 2015 – well before this season started. So La4ss clearly was on to something.
Then on the ice there’s McAvoy and my goodness has he impressed me so far this season. I’ll be the first to admit that I hit the panic button much too early on this Bruins team – but even though I did, McAvoy was my saving grace.
He impressed me at BU, in the World Juniors and in the playoffs against the Ottawa Senators (the team they smoked on Wednesday night, 5-1). He’s not afraid to use his size to make big hits and he most certainly isn’t afraid to take a shot on net.
I said it earlier this week, but McAvoy has a chance at being a franchise defender – a defender this team can build around and a defender this team can trust.
Just watch him on the ice – it’s as if he’s been playing at the major-league level for over 10 years – it just comes so naturally to him and he is unlike any player the Bruins have had in a long while.
I don’t need to keep repeating myself about McAvoy – just read it all here.
Boston has been spoiled for years with championships and great players – but it’s been quite some time since the fans have been able to enjoy the youth of the teams here in the city.
Tatum and McAvoy get fans excited. The TD Garden becomes electric when they make big plays and they have so much promise for so many years to come.
The future is bright, Bruins and Celtics fans. It looks as if our patience is beginning to pay off.
Written by: Lauren Campbell (@lalalalaurrrren)