After all the criticism he’s received in the NBA Finals, the Olympics, and even the preseason, it seems that Jayson Tatum has arrived as a man on a mission to come up with a revenge tour in the 2024-25 season. The Celtics star just hammered the Knicks as they capped off their first game of the campaign.

Jayson Tatum dropped 37 points, 10 assists, and 4 rebounds in what can be seen as a perfect game from him. This was the Tatum that many fans were looking for in the previous season, and it does seem that all of the criticism that he’s received are now turned into fuel for fire with the way he has played in their win today.

So far, the Celtics are looking fine and dandy to take on the challenge of winning the NBA again, and no one can deny the fact that they are still heavy favorites to win the title again. With the way they played today, it seems that the odds should stay in their favor well and emerge as the biggest contenders in the league.

A Massive Game for Tatum

The Knicks have been hyped as one of the biggest picks to take on the Celtics and dethrone them from power in the Eastern Conference after making a flurry of changes in the offseason and capping it off with a trade that brought them Karl-Anthony Towns to the squad. So far, the Celtics just proved that they are not threatened – with Tatum calmly dropping 37 points in the blowout win.

As the Celtics raised its 18th championship banner, it seems that Tatum was all fired up to bring in the big game that was expected from him. The star forward shot 14-18 from the field and drilled eight of his 11 threes. At this point, it is hard to argue that this is the big level of play that many fans were waiting from him.

Still, he has been efficient to begin the season, and that says a lot considering how much criticism he got back in the previous months due to his inconsistent performances and lack of fiery performances in the Celtics’ championship run.

By the Numbers

The Celtics dominated the game right off the tip-off, outscoring the Knicks 43-24 by the end of the first quarter. Boston would not look back after that, holding on to the big lead all the way to the finish, where the Celtics pulled away with a 132-109 victory, a wire-to-wire finish that was expected.

Boston looked sharp in its shooting, drilling a season-high 29 threes while still putting up 47.5% shooting from downtown, and that says a lot about how they are starting to be a team to look out for at this point in time. Boston also flexed its size, even without Kristaps Porzingis, after outmuscling the Knicks in the boards at 40-34. Ball movement was also present well in the game, with Boston dishing out 33 assists.

Defense was phenomenal from the defending champs. They had 6 steals off 11 turnovers, while limiting their own number to just three. It was a strong showing for the Celtics at this point, and what better time to deliver that impressive win than to begin the season and send an intimidating message to the rest of the league with the season now on the wheels.