BOS 114, CHA 99: Tatum Shines as BOS Cruises

Celtics Cruise Past Hornets, Tatum and Pritchard Put On a Show

Look, I'm gonna be straight with you. When the Celtics go into Charlotte and win by 15, and Jayson Tatum drops 32 on efficient shooting while Payton Pritchard goes absolutely bonkers off the bench, that's the kind of game where you're supposed to feel good about your team. And if you had either of those two, you got paid last night.

Let me break down what actually happened, because this wasn't just some random Tuesday blowout.

Tatum Went Full Superstar Mode

Look, I love Jaylen Brown. He's a dog. But last night, Jayson Tatum reminded everyone why he was All-NBA First Team. 32 points on 12-of-23 shooting, five threes, eight assists. That 53 Yahoo FP is massive, and here's what matters: he was +12.2 points above his season average. Not just good. Like, actually elite.

What kills me is how efficient he was. 52% from the field, 5-for-8 from three. When Tatum's shooting like that, defenders can't camp in the paint. That's why he also had eight dimes. The Hornets just couldn't keep up with his gravity.

If you drafted Tatum expecting 20 and 9, nights like this are why. He's due for these performances. The question is sustainability. Answer: yeah, if the Celtics keep playing this level of ball down the stretch.

Pritchard's the Story Nobody Saw Coming

Payton Pritchard going for 28 points, 45.2 Yahoo FP? That's not some fluke bench game. Look at the shooting: 10-of-18 from the field, 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Dude was perfect at the stripe.

He got 37 minutes, which tells you the Celtics trusted him to go out there and execute. And he did. +11.1 points versus his season average of 16.9 PPG. Yeah, he's a scoring bench guy, but efficiency like that doesn't happen every night.

Real talk though: Pritchard's upside is capped by his role. He's gonna have games like this and games where he's invisible. But as a deep bench stash in 12+ team leagues, he just proved his ceiling is higher than people thought. Worth remembering if playoff seeding gets weird and minutes expand.

Queta's Quietly Been Elite

Neemias Queta with 17 and 8 in 28 minutes. That's 34.1 Yahoo FP, and he's +7.2 versus his season average. The dude's been consistent all year but last night he was getting buckets in space. 8-of-13 shooting. That's the kind of efficiency you're hunting from your backup big.

The Hornets couldn't match his athleticism in the paint, and when the Celtics went small, he just absorbed boards. He's not gonna go for 30, but for what he costs on the waiver wire or later in drafts, Queta's a solid upside play whenever the Celtics are healthy.

Hornets Offense Got Shut Down

LaMelo Ball with 19 points and a -0.7 from his season average. That's not great. Three assists on 7-of-19 shooting tells you Charlotte couldn't get anything flowing against the Celtics' defense. LaMelo had his moments but he never got rolling.

Brandon Miller shot 5-of-13 and came up -7.5 points from his average. That's a down night for him. Dude's supposed to be dropping 20 on good efficiency, and instead he's struggling to get open looks.

Kon Knueppel went 5-of-13, also -6.0 from his average. Charlotte's top three scorers combined for a rough night. That's what happens when a real playoff team locks in on defense.

The Takeaway

Tatum and Pritchard saved anyone who was holding them. If you have both, you're good. If you're on the hunt for a waiver add, look at Queta if he's sitting there. The Celtics are rolling, and the guys getting minutes are gonna eat as long as this keeps going.

The Hornets? They got clamped. That's a fantasy loss across the board when your perimeter guys can't hit shots.