Jordi Fernández on Jayson Tatum: "I don't know how to defend against him"

One of the biggest advantages that the Boston Celtics have is the strength of their roster and, more specifically, the strength of their starting lineup. The team's star, Jayson Tatum, is the clear number one option and their best player. Jaylen Brown is right behind him; however, those who speak of them as 1B and 1A, it's hard to argue against that.

Brown is more than capable of leading the C's when Tatum is out of the lineup, and that's the crux of the matter. Boston's starting five is very strong. When one of them sits out or is sidelined for any reason, the remaining four starters are all top-tier players, and it doesn't hurt the team. But it all starts with Tatum. Stopping him is nearly impossible. The coach of the Brooklyn Nets, Jordi Fernández, knows this well. He spoke about Tatum's impact before a back-to-back series that Brooklyn had with Boston earlier this week.

Fernández came out a loser in the back-to-back, with his Nets losing both games 115-113 and 104-96. Interestingly, the more significant defeat came when Boston benched both Tatum and Brown. The Celtics won easily with Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White as starters. Before the first game started, Fernández was asked how to watch and defend a player like Tatum. To his credit, Fernández responded with the best answer, which is often the best way to respond to a question: "I don't know."

"I don't know how to defend him. He's too good. I just try to live with things. If one thing works, I try to stick with it, try to get a feel," explained Fernández. "Our guys do a good job trying to make any adjustment, whatever the defense at that moment to make it together. It is not about one guy doing the defense, and I think that is extremely important."

Other Unstoppable Players in the NBA

Few players in the league are virtually unstoppable to defend, no matter what defensive schemes, designs, analysis, or coverages you throw at them. Luka Doncic is a perfect example of this. Sometimes, the best way to handle things is to defend collectively. This is what Los Angeles Lakers coach, JJ Redick, tried in the Lakers' victory over the Denver Nuggets earlier this month. Redick doesn't have anyone who can guard Nikola Jokic one-on-one, so he planned to surround Jokic with two, sometimes three, defenders, and it worked. Fernández seems to have a similar line of thought. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work, and he knows that players like Tatum can be an exception.

What makes Boston so lethal is that they have top-tier players at every starting position. Tatum, Brown, Holiday, Porzingis, and White are undoubtedly the best starting lineup in the league. Their bench depth is also one of the best groups in the league. If one of the starters rests or gets injured, veteran Al Horford or Payton Pritchard step in. In any case, the Celtics are likely to come out on top. Devising a game plan for Boston must be one of the toughest tasks in the league that a coaching staff can undertake. It all starts with Tatum, the head of the snake, and he is just too good.

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