Jayson Tatum has to be consistent for the Boston Celtics to win
The perfect example of the highs and lows which define the NBA Playoffs is a comparison of the last two games Jayson Tatum played in. In a close-out Game 7 against the 76ers, Tatum set an NBA record for most points scored in a Game 7 with 51, but the opening game in the series against the Heat didn’t go so well.
Tatum and company had control of the game until they lost focus coming out of halftime and allowing Miami to get back in the game allowing them to score 46 points in the 3rd quarter. The Celtics tried to claw back in the 4th but Tatum committed three costly turnovers late in the 4th quarter that they never could recover from.
Consistency will be key for Tatum as the Celtics can’t afford to slip up and lose Game 2 going back to South Beach. Another key for Tatum moving forward is that he has to learn to trust in his teammates in key moments, especially with the game on the line.
We all are familiar with the narrative that the superstar has to be the hero and save the day and make all the shots down the stretch. But in the playoffs, hero ball will get you nowhere fast. Even though Tatum exploded against the 76ers, he must understand that he isn’t going to have a shooting performance like that every game and he needs to realize the wealth of talent he has at his disposal and use it to his advantage.
When he isolates, it makes it easier and more predictable for opponents to implement their defensive schemes against him. When the ball is moving fluently, it gives Tatum the freedom to catch and shoot 3’s, and dribble handoffs as Tatum oftentimes ends up with a mismatch.
It’s also critical that Tatum clean up the turnovers and the lapses on the defensive end and clean up some of those bad habits that have hurt them in the past. The Celtics can very easily tie this series but Tatum has to get back on track and have a bounce-back performance.