One of the great aspects Jayson Tatum brings to the NBA is the consistency to go with his talent. This season he is averaging 27.1 points per game, the second highest of his career, a small improvement on his 26.9 ppg last season.

And for teams preparing to play him, there is an acceptance that they cannot stop the Boston Celtics superstar, they just have to cope with him.

Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images

Jayson Tatum praised by Brooklyn Nets’ Jordi Fernandez

The Boston Celtics have just won successive games against the Brooklyn Nets. In the match-up on March 15, Jayson Tatum went 20-8-8 for his team in a 115-113 victory on the road.

It mean that ahead of the March 18 game between the two teams, Nets coach Jordi Fernandez was asked about how to defend Jayson Tatum.

And he admitted that Tatum is a player you simply cannot have a defined answer for.

Fernandez explained: “I don’t know how to guard him. He’s too good. I just try to live with things. If one thing works, then try to stay with it, try to have a feel for it.

“Our guys do a good job to try to do whatever the adjustment, whatever the defense is at the time to do it together, it’s not just one guy guarding, and I think that’s extremely important.”

The problem of course is that the Celtics have so many good players that the more focus you put on Tatum, the more space it frees up for other players.

Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White and Peyton Pritchard are all offensive juggernauts capable of making teams pay.

And in the subsequent Celtics-Nets game, Joe Mazzulla sat Jayson Tatum. The Celtics did not need him to win, triumphing on home court 104-96.

They were helped by the emergence of rookie draft pick Baylor Scheierman, who scored a career high 20 points, proving the Celtics have a ridiculous amount of depth.

Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets heading in different directions

The Boston Celtics are flying high at the two-seed in the Eastern Conference , with this win their 50th of the season. They remain six wins behind the one-seed Cleveland Cavaliers.

As for the Brooklyn Nets, they are heading towards the NBA Draft Lottery, ranked 13th with a 23-46 record.

But there is one thing clear in the way Jordi Fernandez sets his team up; they are still playing to win, running the Celtics hard, and picking up a victory over a weakened LA Lakers team the previous week.

The good news for Fernandez is they will not have to face the Celtics again this season, who are setting their sights towards bigger things.