Jayson Tatum stayed on the court at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse long after the morning shootaround before Game 3. He stuck to his usual routine, getting in some extra practice with assistant coaches Sam Cassell and Amile Jefferson.
It was business as usual.
Despite facing criticism for his slow start in the playoffs, Tatum remained unfazed. At one point, he even took a seat on the scorers’ table and began dancing.
Aware of the pressure on him, Tatum came through when it mattered in Game 3. After the Cavaliers’ Game 2 win at TD Garden, Boston needed their star player to step up in a hostile environment in the face of Cleveland’s momentum, and he delivered right from the start.
After Donovan Mitchell knocked down a pair of threes to open the game for Cleveland, Tatum responded with a pull-up three of his own – which is usually a pretty good indicator that he is feeling it, and he certainly was.
Finishing the game with a postseason-high 33 points, along with 13 rebounds and six assists, Tatum’s performance was exactly what he and the Celtics needed. The impressive display also marked his 24th career playoff game with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, putting him in esteemed company alongside Bill Russell, Charles Barkley, and Hakeem Olajuwon, tying for the 10th most all-time.
“It just shows he is a really great player that gets taken advantage of because he’s been really good for a long time,” Joe Mazzulla said on Tatum after the game. “Underappreciated. I think he played a great game on both ends of the floor.”
Underappreciated is right.
Over the past week or two, all the discourse surrounding the Celtics has been Tatum’s postseason struggles, which Tatum silenced in Game 3. He returned to his usual scoring self while continuing to impact other areas of the game, like his defense.
“JT is always going to be JT on the offensive end. But I think defensively, he did a great job. Got some key stops, nice blocks, and some big rebounds,” Jrue Holiday said after the game. “I know that we trust him so much on the offensive end, but defensively is really where I’m so impressed by him. I don’t think he gets enough credit on the defensive end.”
Tatum’s impact went far beyond filling out the stat sheet. At halftime, his leadership was on full display as he implored his team not to be complacent with their nine-point halftime lead.
“JT challenged us at halftime to make sure we were more assertive and got off to a good start in the third,” Al Horford said.
“Just keep going. Just keep throwing punches,” Jaylen Brown added. “Don’t let up.”
His words resonated with his teammates as the Celtics opened the second half with a 14-0 run, extending their lead to 23 points and effectively putting the game out of reach for the Cavaliers.
“Just challenged everybody – myself, the starters. We’ve had a tendency in the past to relax coming out of halftime,” Tatum said. “We’re usually winning coming out of halftime. So, just challenge the group – can we come out like our back is against the wall? Can we make them call the first timeout? Can we come out like we’re down nine? The group responded, and we started the third quarter off very well.”
Tatum returned to his superstar status on Saturday night. Undoubtedly the most impactful player on the court, he also proved his mettle as a leader.
At least for one day, Tatum should find respite from the constant barrage of criticism. Nonetheless, he remains impervious to the naysayers, focused solely on his game.
“I do, I respect your guys’ job, I respect the guys on TV. I don’t always agree with the things that they say, but when they’re fair, and they take emotions out of it, whatever way that they’re leaning toward, and they’re fair, I respect it,” Tatum said. “I understand what the media has brought to our game — more eyes, more attention, and how everybody has benefited from that.
So, I wouldn’t say I take it as disrespect – like I said, I don’t always agree with what they say. Maybe I feel like they’re not watching everything else that I’m doing, but that’s not my job to focus on that or give it any attention. My job is to be the best player I can be for our team any given night. Yeah, I would love to make every shot I take, and I know I can shoot better, and I will. But at this time of the season, as long as we win and we’re trending in the right direction, I know me scoring will come. I’ve done that plenty of, plenty of times. So I just try to impact the game in other ways and just dominate, dominate the game, and not be defined as just a scorer.”
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