Getty Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Jayson Tatum has come in for criticism during the Boston Celtics NBA Finals series against the Golden State Warriors, as many consider him to be underperforming on the biggest stage.
While Tatum has notched three double-doubles in five games, his shooting has clearly been sub-par, and his team is suffering as a result. In fact, the All-NBA Wing is finding more success when shooting from the perimeter than he is when attacking from two-point range – such is the complexity of his current run of form.
That criticism will continue to burn brightly, as the Celtics fell to a game five defeat against the Warriors, and now sit just one loss away from elimination. Speaking after the June 13 contest, former NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins was the latest media member to question Tatum’s current production and noted how Andrew Wiggins has been the better player over games four and five.
“This is the second game in a row Andrew Wiggins has outplayed Jayson Tatum!” –@KendrickPerkins
“This is the second game in a row that Andrew Wiggins has outplayed Jayson Tatum. Back-to-back games. I don’t want to get caught up in the numbers, I want to get caught up in the impact. No knock on him, but he ain’t Kevin Durant – but he looked like him tonight, though,” Perkins said.
Perkins mentioned Durant, as Tatum began this year’s playoffs by outperforming the Brooklyn Nets superstar, leading everyone to believe the St. Louis native was ready to perform on the NBA’s biggest stage.
Tatum Failed to Heed Udoka’s Message
Following Boston’s June 10 loss to the Warriors, Ime Udoka spoke out about Tatum’s struggles and specifically pointed out how his star player was hunting for fouls and avoiding going strong to the rim.
“At times he’s looking for fouls. They are a team that loads up in certain games. He’s finding the outlets. Shooting over two, three guys. That’s the balance of being aggressive and picking your spots and doing what he’s done in previous games, which is kicked it out and got wide-open looks. That’s the ongoing theme so to speak, him getting to the basket, being a scorer as well as a playmaker,” Udoka told the media.
However, on June 13, Tatum continued to play a similar brand of basketball, engaging with the referee’s, hunting for fouls, and allowing his emotions to get the better of him. The more heated Tatum got, the worse his shooting become, leading to a one-of-five shooting performance in the fourth quarter.
Tatum Knows the Celtics Need to Focus on the Game
After a scorching hot comeback in the third quarter, Jordan Poole hit a buzzer-beater to take the air out of Boston’s sails, and the team never looked like it recovered once the fourth quarter got underway.
Sure, Tatum wasn’t the only player to get embroiled in arguing with the officials, but it’s fair to say that his actions throughout the post-season have given the green light to others to react to adversity in a similar manner. During his post-game press conference, Tatum agreed that the team needs to focus on basketball moving forwards, especially with their next game being a win-or-go-home scenario.
“I mean, you saw it. I wasn’t in all of those conversations. I didn’t hear everything that was talked about. But in those situations, especially on the road, regardless if we feel like calls are going our way or not, just in those moments we just got to be better not letting distractions, things like that, distract us. Down one going into the fourth quarter, just got to focus on what’s important at the time,” Tatum explained to reporters when asked about how his team reacted to foul calls down the stretch.
Boston needs to be on their A-Game heading into their June 16 contest against the Warriors, otherwise, their impressive season could end with a whimper.