House explains how Tatum, wanting to protect Edwards, ‘drives’ Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The NBA’s top players don’t just score a lot of points. They also want to take on the challenge of shutting down the opponent’s best player on defense.

Jayson Tatum did both in the Boston Celtics’ impressive 118-115 road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night, and it was another example of why he should be a serious candidate for league MVP.

With both Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis sidelined due to injuries, Tatum scored a game-high 33 points, including 16 in the third quarter. In 38 minutes of playing time, he also had nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

Most importantly, Tatum took on the challenge of guarding Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards. And it wasn’t about head coach Joe Mazzulla putting Tatum in charge of defending Edwards. The 26-year-old winger asked for the matchup.

“He wanted to protect him, so he took on that defensive challenge,” Mazzulla said after the game. “That’s the key for us to get where we want to go if he takes that, so that’s a credit to him.”

Edwards played well below his standards. He scored just 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting (2-for-9 from 3-point range). Covered by Tatum, Edwards scored just six points on 2-for-5 shooting (0-for-2 on 3-pointers) with one turnover.

“Even if I had the chance, I think, ‘Oh, they’re bringing two.’ Or a trace. I don’t know, I’m watching film and trying to figure it out,” Edwards said of Brian Robb after the game.

“It’s hard to beat two NBA players, you know what I mean? These guys are NBA players. It’s not like high school or middle school. These guys, 6-8, 6-9, long, strong, athletic. Then they cheered me on” to the guy who is 8 feet tall on the edge. It’s crazy.”

Eddie House explained on NBC Sports Boston Celtic’s aftermath live how Tatum, wanting to protect Edwards, lifted his teammates and gave them a boost.

“With Jaylen Brown out, your superstar has stepped up to the plate,” House said. “He says, ‘I want this challenge.’ I need that. I’m not avoiding the smoke, I want that smoke.’ And what that does is it energizes your team because you see your guy going out there and not just wanting to get paper on an end and get money and score points. “No, I also want to protect the best player they have,” that gets your team going.

“It gives you a little extra push, a little more energy to go out there and do your job a little better than you might have thought when you set them up. It’s January. The dog days are beginning. Sometimes it’s hard to find that motivation and extra energy. He gave them an energy beam while guarding (Edwards).

Tatum leads the Celtics in points (28.5), rebounds (9.5) and assists (5.6) per game. He is also excellent on defense and his defensive rating of 108.5 is two points better than last season.

Tatum likely won’t put up the requisite stats to win MVP, especially since Nikola Jokic has averaged nearly a triple-double for the Denver Nuggets. But it’s pretty hard to find a player in the league who has had a bigger impact on his team, both offensively and defensively, than Tatum did with the Celtics.