Jayson Tatum’s bizarre press conference answer won’t have Celtics fans feeling any better after a disappointing loss to the Cavs in the NBA Playoffs.
The Boston Celtics weren’t expected to have much trouble with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs even after it was announced that star center Kristaps Porzingis would miss the series with a calf injury. Boston looked dominant in its Game 1 victory over the Cavs. Game 2 didn’t exactly go as planned.
Cleveland beat the Celtics, 118-94, in a stunning result to even the series as it goes back to Ohio. The game was tied at halftime before the Cavs crushed Boston in the third and fourth quarters. Evan Mobley put together his best offensive game of the playoffs (21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists), Caris LeVert chipped in another 21 points off the bench, and Donovan Mitchell (29 points) took the Cavs home from there.
Boston looked just awful in the second half, shooting 36 percent from the floor and 2-of-18 from three-point range over the final two quarters. Jayson Tatum is supposed to carry the Celtics in these tough moments, but instead he looked passive and disengaged with the game on the line. Tatum finished with 25 points on the night, but his impact was rarely felt on the game. It feels like Derrick White, not Tatum, has been Boston’s best player in the playoffs so far, and that’s not good for the Celtics’ championship chances.
After the game, Tatum gave a bizarre quote about the expectations Boston is facing in the playoffs. According to Tatum, Boston doesn’t exactly have a super team because they didn’t get many end-of-season awards. Watch the clip here:
Jayson Tatum on expectations for the Celtics: “That’s the narrative you might see on TV, the idea that we have a super team. It’s twofold. We didn’t have the Coach of the Year or MVP. We only had two All-Stars. They say we’re a super team, but we didn’t get rewarded like we are.” pic.twitter.com/kWhHv4afDM
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) May 10, 2024
The Celtics won 64 games this year — 14 more than any team in the Eastern Conference. They had the best net-rating in the league by a mile. This team has no excuses not to at least reach the 2024 NBA Finals with the way the Eastern Conference shook out this year: a season-ending injury to Giannis Antetokounmpo leading to the Bucks’ early elimination, an injury to Joel Embiid ravaging the 76ers’ season, and the Knicks facing at least three injuries in their rotation.
Tatum sounds like he’s making excuses — hey, we’re really not that good! — and no one wants to hear them. Tatum’s numbers are pretty far down from the regular season to the playoffs so far. His scoring has fallen from 37.1 points per 100 possessions to 30.4 in the playoffs, and his true shooting percentage has fallen from 60.4 to 54.5 percent. That’s not great.
Tatum got dunked on hard on social media after the loss:
jayson tatum plays basketball like somebody who has been rooting for drake and is disappointed in his performance
— Negative Dunks (@negativedunks) May 10, 2024
Jayson Tatum is like the Michael Jordan of Tobias Harris’s
— Anthony (@omgitsbirdman) May 10, 2024
Tatum got Paul George syndrome. He has the defender beat and trying to get step back three
— Steeski (@spurlgin) May 9, 2024
We ranked the Celtics as the most likely team to win the championship at the start of the second round. That won’t be the case unless Tatum stops making excuses and starts making shots.
