Shortly after the Boston Celtics drafted forward Jayson Tatum No. 3 overall out of Duke in the 2017 NBA Draft, they signed forward All-Star Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $128 million contract. The signing made Tatum question if he would get the chance to start or have a role on the team.

Despite the dangers of reacting to early-season trends, I tried to cut through the noise to find eight of the most important stats from the Celtics’ first eight games. The Celtics improved to 7-1 with Monday night’s 123-93 win at Atlanta.

Jayson Tatum told ex-Celtics teammate Jeff Teague that he almost requested a trade during his rookie season. Despite being drafted No. 3 overall, Tatum had concerns about playing time. Boston had signed Gordon Hayward to a 4-year deal worth up to $128 million.