On Sunday, March 13th, the Mavs and Celtics squared off in a star-studded matchup. The Mavericks got the narrow 95-92 victory behind a stellar performance from Luka Doncic. The superstar combo guard racked up 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in his team’s victory. On the night of Kevin Garnett‘s jersey retirement ceremony, this feeling must be familiar to Celtics fans. Four years ago, some generational talent named LeBron James spoiled Paul Pierce‘s jersey retirement. Celtics fans must be wondering why the organization keeps testing these types of players. Another topic potentially put to rest is any talk of Jayson Tatum taking the throne of best NBA player under 25 from Doncic.
Luka vs. Tatum
Jayson Tatum sparked interest in NBA fans and had people wondering; did he surpass Luka as the best player under 25? Simple answer, no. NBA fans and certain fanbases jump the gun too quickly because of a couple of hot-streaks and ignore the body of work. Tatum earned Player of the Week honors last week, Luka strikes back, earning this week’s award. Tatum gets the Celtics to 41 wins, Luka decides to get to 42 with a win over his Celtics. These two young superstars have led some of the best teams since the calendar flip, but like LeBron James and Kevin Durant, Tatum could potentially be two to Luka’s one. Let’s discuss the Mavs and Celtics’ top dogs.
Updated NBA Power Rankings, via @NBA:
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 14, 2022
1.) Suns
2.) Heat
3.) Celtics
4.) Grizzlies
5.) Mavs
6.) Warriors
7.) Sixers
8.) Nuggets
9.) Bucks
10.) Jazz
Luka’s Case
Luka has some things you cannot teach, things NBA fans call “Luka Magic.” He is a one-of-a-kind player who can do everything on offense, despite being on the more unathletic side compared to most superstars. Tatum does not have the playmaking Luka provides and cannot score at the effiency that Luka provides. Don’t get it twisted, these guys get buckets with the best of them, but you would certainly rather have someone who does it with less shots and more shots to go around. Tatum isn’t a lacking playmaker for a 6’8″ power forward, but Luka is putting up King James statlines on a nightly basis. Not to mention, Luka doesn’t have a Jaylen Brown he can offload the scoring to when he is off. From this angle, it is no contest.
Luka Dončić has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from 3/7 through 3/13.
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) March 14, 2022
Dončić has now been named Western Conference Player of the Week in 2 of the last 3 weeks, in addition to being named Western Conference Player of the Month for February. pic.twitter.com/ipvnVbpCx7
Tatum’s “Bag”
However, Tatum does some things that Luka could use in his game. One aspect that everyone can agree on is defense. The top players do not get switched on late in games or in general. While Tatum was struggling to find his rhythm, he was head hunting to switch on Luka and get some easy points. Luckily for Luka, Jason Kidd drew up some great doubles to force the ball away from Tatum. On the other hand, Tatum does not run from the grind on defense. He accepts challenges from the league’s best wings at all time. In terms of offensive production, you can hardly blame Tatum. Luka ranks third in the league in touches per game, while Tatum sits in 32nd. If Tatum got the offense ran through him like a big guard, could he get 28 points and 8 assists a game? Hard to tell. The Mavs and Celtics systems cheat us out of an equal setting for our young superstars.
Jayson Tatum was awesome yesterday. He also made some plays defensively too. KD was great, because he IS great. But this was terrific defense by Tatum. Watch the middle of this clip, as KD walks it back. Tatum spreads his full wingspan like a pterodactyl unfurling its wings. pic.twitter.com/33bUeFZRzG
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 7, 2022
Can Two Legends Coexist?
In a perfect world, we would stop the comparing and enjoy the upcoming faces of our league. Sadly, that isn’t the case. Tatum and Luka will be compared for years to come and will most likely be dueling it out for the best player in basketball one day. Luka has Tatum beat in most areas. Tough to say, but Tatum hasn’t reached him yet. However, Tatum could put himself in the conversation with a strong finish to the season and some potential hardware that’s awarded in June. The Mavs and Celtics currently got good ones.
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