Jayson Tatum – Forward – BOS
Surprisingly, Tatum has not had great success against the Raptors this season. In the four games he played against them he averaged 16.5 points, 7 rebounds, 4.5 assists on 38% shooting from the field. His numbers for the season are 23.4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, on 45% shooting. Part of this is the fact that the Raptors have good perimeter defenders in OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. However, the big reason for these struggles is three of these games were played before the month of February. This of course is the stretch Tatum took a massive leap and became a budding superstar. Since the beginning of February, Tatum has played in 23 games and averaged 27.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.5 steals on 47% shooting.
The Raptors got a small preview of what it would be like to face this version of Tatum when they faced the Celtics on 8/7. Tatum had his best outing of the season against Toronto putting up 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assist, 2 steals, on 50% shooting in only 28 minutes. With no Gordon Hayward in this series and the fact that Tatum will be close to playing 40 minutes per game, Tatum should have many opportunities to put up big numbers. Don’t overthink this one and draft Jayson Tatum for your lineup during this series.
Fred VanVleet – Guard – TOR
Like Tatum struggled against the Raptors in the four games, VanVleet has struggled against the Celtics in the four games he played against them. VanVleet averaged 16.5 points, 4 rebounds, 5.3 assists on 34% shooting. However, as everyone knows the playoffs are a different animal from the regular season even in this bubble. Teams in the playoffs have the ability to create gameplans for the teams they are facing and I have a feeling VanVleet will be a big part of Toronto’s plan.
The Celtics are a very good defensive team but they do have a weakness with Kemba Walker at point guard. With Marcus Smart likely to guard Kyle Lowry, VanVleet will end getting Walker matched-up on him. Even more encouraging for VanVleet’s fantasy value, is how he played in the Nets series. VanVleet averaged 21.3 points, 4 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 44.5 FPPG. I expect this type of production to continue which will make VanVleet a great value for your lineup.
This article expresses the personal views of the writer and does not reflect the view(s) of SuperDraft in any way.
Featured Image Source: David Butler-USA Today Sports
