Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is one of the more gifted scorers in the NBA today, and he’s been particularly great at putting the ball in the hoop on the road this season. In 15 road contests so far in his eighth season as a Celtic, Tatum is scoring 30.9 points per contest while converting 47.2 percent of his shots from the field.
After Tatum dropped 20 points, six rebounds and five assists in Boston’s road victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night, he explained what motivates him to show out away from home and why he doesn’t miss road games.
Jayson Tatum has been extra dominant on the road this season (31.6 points on 49% shooting), so I asked him about it:
“Kids might’ve got this ticket for their birthday or Christmas, knowing that’s the only time I get to come in town. That’s why I never want to miss road games.” pic.twitter.com/hb8elVYBnK
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) January 4, 2025
The best ability is availability, and on top of being one of the NBA’s premier offensive players, Tatum has been a very durable star in recent seasons (and really throughout his career). He has suited up in 70-plus games for Boston in each of the last three seasons and is on pace to do so again this season.
Tatum has played in all but three of the Celtics’ 35 games thus far in the 2024-25 regular season. Additionally, he’s missed just one road game to this point.
The Celtics will play their next two contests on the road, giving Tatum a chance to keep things rolling away from home. Boston will wrap up its road trip with matchups against two of the top threats in the Western Conference: the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets.
First, the Celtics will take on a red-hot Thunder team at Paycom Center on Sunday. Oklahoma City is currently riding a 14-game winning streak and earned a 10-point win over the New York Knicks on Friday.
Then, Boston will take on the 2023 NBA champions on Tuesday. The Nuggets own the No. 5 seed in the West with a record of 19-14 and employ maybe the best player in the NBA in big man Nikola Jokic.
The Celtics are looking to keep their spot in the Eastern Conference standings at No. 2 and perhaps give the Cleveland Cavaliers a run for their money for the top seed. The Celtics are currently 4.5 games back of the Cavs.
