Celtics’ Jayson Tatum on late miss vs. Pacers: ‘I should have put more pressure on the defense’
"That's on me in that situation."
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With time winding down and the Boston Celtics trailing by one in Sunday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers, Jayson Tatum stared down Malcolm Brogdon, then hoisted a deep 3-pointer over the smaller defender.
The shot was somewhat similar to Tatum’s game-winner against the Milwaukee Bucks just two games prior, with two major differences: This shot clanked off the rim, and Malcolm Brogdon is not Giannis Antetokounmpo. Marcus Smart rebounded Tatum’s miss and tried to hoist it back up to the hoop, but the Celtics fell 108-107.
Brad Stevens didn’t say anything directly critical of Tatum’s shot selection, but he didn’t effusively praise it either.
“We were looking for a little bit of action off of an entry where they were denying,” Stevens said. “It went to Tatum at the top, and we had that as an option. Then I thought Grant tried to slip out of that thing and Tatum got separation, but that’s obviously a tough shot. But he made it the other day. And one of our best players and certainly one of the guys in the league you want to have the ball with a game on the line had the ball. So that was the positive, I guess.
Did Tatum like his own shot?
“Nah that was on me,” Tatum said. “I should have put more pressure on the defense. Obviously that’s a shot I take a lot and I can hit, but I’ve got to put pressure on the refs and the defense in that situation. It wasn’t the exact play we drew up, but I should have just put more pressure on them. That’s on me in that situation.”
Tatum finished with 25 points on 9-for-21 shooting. He exploded for 14 points in the second quarter, but the Pacers focused their defense on him aggressively and forced the ball out of his hands for stretches in the second half.
Through three games, Tatum has yet to find his range. After a 30-point outing in the season opener, which Tatum called “terrible” in his post-game comments to TNT, he put up 20 points on 9-for-22 shooting against the Brooklyn Nets.
Tatum was asked if Sunday’s game was frustrating.
“Yeah, I take full blame,” Tatum said. “I didn’t play nearly as well as I needed to, as I’m capable of, and teammates, people expect of me. I’ve got to take that on the chin.”
Still, Tatum insisted he isn’t feeling any extra pressure to perform, even though the “superstar” label was widely affixed to him before the season.
“I come in with a clear mind,” he said. “I’ve been playing basketball my whole life, so I’ve got expectations for myself. Ever since I’ve been in the league, good or bad, I don’t let outside noise affect me. I’m always mild-mannered, calm. I don’t tense up. It’s just basketball. I just go out there. I don’t think about it.”
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