BOSTON -- Shortly after his team got walloped 110-88 in a game that could have been even less competitive if the Boston Celtics hadn’t taken their foot off the gas pedal, Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Beilein told reporters the Celtics were just better than the Cavaliers.

“We’re playing against three All-Stars," Beilein said. "Maybe more with Jaylen Brown.”

The three unnamed All-Stars Beilein referenced were Kemba Walker, Gordon Hayward and Jayson Tatum. Walker made the last three Eastern Conference All-Star teams playing for the Charlotte Hornets. Averaging 21.8 points and five assists for the 17-5 Celtics, he is well on his way to a fourth. Hayward, who played in the brutal Western Conference before joining the Celtics, has made just one team, but he was a fringe All-Star prior, and before he broke his hand and missed four weeks, he was assembling a very good case to make the team this year as well.

Beilein was also referencing Jayson Tatum, who is still searching for his first All-Star appearance in his third season. According to Tatum, speaking to MassLive, making the All-Star team was one of his personal goals for himself this year.

“Obviously, I wanted to make it last year, and that didn’t happen," Tatum said. “I was disappointed in myself, I didn’t play nearly good enough to make it, and that was tough. I thought about that the entire season and this summer."

Tatum said he spoke to Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal -- his good friend, who made his first All-Star team in his sixth season -- about what it feels like to be selected, and what it takes to get there.

“It’s a big deal," Tatum said. "It’s only 24 people get to make the All-Star team every year. It’s not easy, it’s the best of the best. Even hearing that I have a chance to make it this year is good. I’m not going to relax until I hear that I do make it, but keep playing the way I am, keep winning, just let the rest take care of itself.”

Tatum certainly does have a chance. He’s averaging 21.2 points per game along with seven rebounds and 2.9 assists. His efficiency could rise (“Obviously I wish I was shooting it a little better,” Tatum said), but he’s posting career highs in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Trusted with the highest usage of his career by a significant margin, Tatum’s effective field-goal percentage is just 47.4 (24th percentile), but the Celtics have been a staggering 17.3 points per 100 possessions better when he’s on the floor according to Cleaning the Glass, which is 98th percentile for his position.

Of course, All-Star candidacy doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Tatum likely won’t be voted in as an All-Star starter by fans, so he will need to be chosen. In the Eastern Conference, he has a major advantage: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Pascal Siakam and Joel Embiid are all likely picks for starters in the East’s front court. Jimmy Butler is a lock to make the team as well for the job he has done in Miami and could challenge for a starting spot, while Ben Simmons might get a nod for his balanced stat lines.

But even with big men included, the competition thins out pretty significantly. Aside from Tatum, Siakam, Antetokounmpo, Butler and Embiid (and if we assume Zach LaVine is a guard), only two other forwards in the Eastern Conference are averaging more than 20 points per game: Evan Fournier of the Orlando Magic and ... Tatum’s own teammate, Jaylen Brown.

“Jaylen’s been great,” Tatum said. “He’s been playing great this year. He’s really been helping our team out a lot this year, obviously. Hopefully he can keep it up, and maybe we can get three people on the All-Star team. If we keep winning, you never know.”

It’s not impossible. Walker is a likely pick, and he might be a starter. Hayward’s absence will likely cost him a slot. But Brown (20 points per game, 6.9 rebounds) has been excellent this year, and along with Tatum and Walker, he has been crucial to Boston’s hot start. The Celtics could reasonably hope to send three players to Chicago.

That would be a departure from last season when only Kyrie Irving represented the team, but everything is different this year. The Celtics are much more of a unit -- a group functioning together while helping players shine individually.

For Tatum, balancing personal goals with team success has happened naturally.

“It’s been easy this year,” Tatum said. “It’s just all been flowing in the right direction. Making the right play, being aggressive and doing what I need to do to help our team win, and we’ve been winning. So that helps a lot.”

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