Jayson Tatum Seems Encouraged By This Part Of Celtics' Early Season Play

"We've started off as a much better offensive team than we did last season."

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics have been red-hot to open the season offensively. 

Through nine games, the Celtics lead the NBA in points per game at an eye-popping rate of 118.8 points per game. Boston also is tied for the league lead in offensive rating -- which measures a team's scoring per 100 possessions -- at 117.5. 

One of the biggest reasons for the Celtics' offensive surge to open the 2022-23 NBA season can be attributed to the squad's shooting from beyond the arc. Boston currently is shooting the second most threes per game at 40.7 each contest and has been efficient with their attempts drilling an NBA-best 16 per game at a clip of 39.3%. The Celtics even broke the franchise record for most three-pointers hit in a game in their big win over the New York Knicks on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden with 27.

Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum certainly sounds pleased with the squad's offensive firepower so far this season. 

"Just continue to build off of last year," Tatum said on footage on NBC Sports Boston. "We've started off as a much better offensive team than we did last season. Now we're just trying to get our defense to match. Obviously (Robert Williams) is a big part of that and having him there presents some challenges that we need to figure out on a nightly basis. But from the offensive standpoint, it's a carryover from last season. We've got most of the same guys so the message is kind of the same and being familiar with the things we're trying to accomplish."

Boston enters Monday night's tilt with the Memphis Grizzlies winners of each of its last two games. The Celtics have scored 112 or more points in each of the squad's last five games and have finished below the threshold since their 120-102 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 24. 

The Celtics haven't been as expected defensively to open the new campaign, but have started to turn things around and Williams' eventual return is sure to plug things up in the middle. The fact that Boston already has been this impressive offensively certainly is a good sign and has shown no signs of slowing down. 

Further Reading

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Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Win vs. Bulls: Tatum's 36 Points and Brogdon's 25 Propel Boston Back into Win Column

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