Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics are the defending NBA champions and still feel like they have plenty to prove in the 2025 NBA playoffs. After taking care of Dallas last June, the Celtics have flown under the radar for much of this season.

In a series that forced the Celtics to shift away from their usual style, the Magic never solved the Tatum problem. He slammed the door on them with 35 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in Game 5 after dominating crunch time of Game 4 in a 37-point-14-rebound outing.

Tatum’s 35.4 GameScore is higher than all but two of Larry Bird's 164 playoff performances. The post Jayson Tatum looks like a man on a mission this postseason, and other thoughts on the Celtics before the next series appeared first on Boston.