LAS VEGAS — The Paul Pierce comparisons have chased him from Boston to Vegas, but Jayson Tatum is embracing and fulfilling them. With feathery feet and a hawkish wingspan, Tatum put on the defining performance of his summer league tour Saturday in an 86-81 Celtics win over the Lakers at the Thomas and Mack Center.
With a comprehensive mid-post game and a polished step back, summer league coach Walter McCarty experienced some deja vu harkening back to his early days wearing a Celtics jersey.
“He reminds me a lot of Paul Pierce when he was young," McCarty said after Tatum’s 27-point performance.