Boston Celtics: NBA Finals all about the rise or failure of Jayson Tatum
The 2021-22 Boston Celtics are a team that thrives off adversity. Just like their young, emerging superstar Jayson Tatum, they put their best foot forward when their backs are against the wall.
With a prime opportunity to go up 3-1 against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, the Celtics went cold offensively and just couldn’t match the hot hand of Stephen Curry, who lit it up for 43 points in a 107-97 Game 4 victory that tied the series up at 2-2 going back to the Bay Area.
While Curry had his signature career moment, the NBA world and Celtics Nation is asking when Tatum will have his big moment. Despite the loss, the Celtics star scored 23 points with 11 rebounds and six assists. But it is the 8-of-23 shooting that has caused some concern.
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In moments when he needed to match Curry, he either bricked shot or came up short at the bench. As Tatum went, so did the entire Boston Celtics offense down the stretch and now the team has to put an epic performance together in a pivotal Game 5 on Monday night.
Following the Game 4 loss, Tatum has put ownership on himself and is looking forward to Game 5 and so is former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins who is also wondering when Tatum’s big moment will come in calling out the superstar who is overdue for an offensive explosion.
"“You could talk about turnovers and all the Xs and Os. We can talk about transition defense. But what I saw today was the best player on one team was ready for the occasion and rose to the occasion. And I’ve been waiting for the best player on the Celtics to rise to the occasion,” Perkins said on Celtics Post-game live, via NBC Sports Boston."
Perkins, like all Celtics fans are wondering when the real Jayson Tatum is going to arrive in these NBA Finals. The next three games will be a perfected time for him to show his All-NBA first team status, at least the next game. In all, the Celtics need consistency out of their 24-year-old star. He started Game 4 matching Curry as he scored 12 points but disappeared after that.
Is it the Warriors defense or an injury that is holding Tatum back? At this point, there are no excuses. As Curry proved with his performance with his team’s back against the wall, no amount of defensive pressure held him back, neither did a sore foot.
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Sure, this is a learning experience for Tatum and the entire Boston Celtics squad, but as the team has proved over and over in the second half of the season and throughout the playoffs, they typically learn and bounce back.
While it is frustrating the team dropped another home game at TD Garden they seemingly had in hand, the scary part is it took a monstrous performance by Curry to even the series, it should also be scary for the Warriors that it is a tied series with Tatum struggling offensively.
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Just imagine when he heats it up. Just imagine when Tatum finally locks in and do what he does. The way this series is going, we all know it is coming. It’s just a matter of when and hoping that it doesn’t come a game too late.
Let’s remember, Jayson Tatum and this team thrives off adversity. Well, adversity is here.