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Jayson Tatum takes ‘full ownership’ of poor play against Knicks this series
"I can’t sugarcoat anything, I need to be better. I expect to be a lot better.”
The Boston Celtics’ hopes of repeating as NBA champions took a significant hit this week after dropping a pair of home games to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Celtics have put themselves in the record books for all the wrong reasons so far in this series against New York.
As noted by Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe, Boston is the first team in playoff history during the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) to lose twice in a single postseason after leading by 20 points.
Several factors have loomed large over Boston’s recent track record of letting go of the rope in the second half against New York — be it poor 3-point shooting or questionable coaching calls by Joe Mazzula.
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Jayson Tatum’s struggles have been hard to overlookl. Despite his standing as one of the top superstars in the NBA, Tatum hasn’t be able to deliver in crunch time against New York.
Game 2 on Wednesday night was one of Tatum’s poorest showings in recent memory. He shot just 5-for-19 from the field en route to just 13 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. He had the chance to win the game on Boston’s final possession, but couldn’t get the shot off as part of Boston’s 91-90 loss on the team’s home court.
In the fourth quarter of Games 1 and 2 against the Knicks, Tatum is shooting 1-for-11 from the field (0-for-9 from 3-point range) for just six points.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday at the Auerbach Center, Tatum took the blame for his poor play so far this series.
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“I take full ownership on the way that I’ve played in this series,” Tatum said. “And I can’t sugarcoat anything, I need to be better. I expect to be a lot better.”
While Boston limited New York’s scoring for a majority of Game 2, the Celtics failed pad their lead — or overcome the Knicks’ late surge — by pouring on points late in the game.
After Boston took a 20-point lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter, the Celtics shot just 5-of-28 from the field (17.9 percent) with six turnovers.
“A lot of the shots that we got, we got some really, really good looks from 3,” Tatum said. “We missed a lot of bunnies, a lot of layups. So those are tough because guys work really hard on their game and their craft and preparing to be in those moments and hit open shots, and it just hasn’t happened the last two games. But you can’t lose your confidence. When you’re open, you’ve got to shoot the ball.”
Prior to Games 1 and 2 against New York, Tatum was playing of his best basketball of the season against Orlando in the first round of the playoffs.
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After missing Game 2 against the Magic due to a bone bruise, Tatum averaged 36.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists from Games 3-5 against a stingy Orlando defense to help punch Boston’s ticket to the next round.
The Celtics will need a similar showing from Tatum moving forward if Boston has any hopes of evening up this series at Madison Square Garden.
“We have a way that we play,” Tatum said. “We have an identity, and it can’t waver just because we missing shots. We can’t change who we are. And I always say, you got to be the same person when things are going well and when things aren’t going well. And it’s not about our season being two games from over. Like that hasn’t crossed any of our minds.”
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