Tatum earns NBA honor after red-hot week for Celtics

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At least Jayson Tatum's quarantine is beginning on a high note.

The Celtics forward was named the NBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday, becoming the first Boston player to win the award this season.

Dallas guard Luka Doncic earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors; ironically, both the Mavericks and Celtics had their upcoming games postponed Monday due to health and safety protocols.

Forsberg: How the Celtics will attempt to cope with Tatum's absence

Tatum reportedly began a 10-to-14-day quarantine Saturday after testing positive for COVID-19. He was on fire before then, however, averaging 33.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists over three games last week, all Celtics wins.

The 22-year-old dropped 40 points against the Toronto Raptors on Monday, hung 27 on the Miami Heat on Wednesday and went off for 32 points against the Washington Wizards on Friday. Not bad for a week's work.

You could argue Tatum should be the second C's player to win the award this season, as Jaylen Brown lost out to Philadelphia's Tobias Harris despite averaging nearly 30 points per game the previous week.

Instead, Tatum is the first Celtic to earn Player of the Week honors since ... himself, on Feb. 10 of the 2019-20 season.

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