Celtics' Joe Mazzulla names unexpected NBA Playoffs-winning Jayson Tatum change

Celtics' Joe Mazzulla names unexpected NBA Playoffs-winning Jayson Tatum change originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Coming off an Achilles injury, no one expected Jayson Tatum to be this good in the NBA Playoffs. Heck, not a lot of people expected him to be back playing for Coach Joe Mazzulla. Yet, all those expectations were usurped by a monster performance by the superstar which led to the Boston Celtics' 123-91 demolition of the Philadelphia 76ers.

There was one glaring thing that Tatum did which caught the attention of Coach Mazzulla. It could be why they win a 19th banner come June.

Mazzulla loves Tatum's improved skill that could get Celtics atop NBA Playoffs

It is one thing to return from an Achilles injury faster than expected and another to come back better than you were before. Jayson Tatum did exactly both of those for the Celtics. He was the reason why Coach Joe Mazzulla was able to lead the team to a 1-0 NBA Playoffs series lead over the 76ers.

One thing that the Celtics head coach loved a lot was how his star player improved in rebounding. Mazzulla outlined why this will be a big reason why they can be atop the rest of the pack in the NBA Playoffs, via Jay King of The Athletic.

"Thought his performance was really good. Rebounding was great. He changed defensive matchups six, seven, eight times throughout the game. I thought that was great there," the Celtics head coach said.