The Rich Keefe Show reacts to Celtics' Game 6 win over Philly
For the first three quarters of Thursday night’s Game 6, Jayson Tatum did not look like an MVP candidate and All-NBA First Team player.
He looked more like the number on his jersey: A zero. Through three quarters, Tatum was 1-for-13 from the field, including 0-for-6 from three. He had just three points. And while he was rebounding and playing defense, his total lack of offense was weighing the Celtics down.
Then came the fourth quarter. With the Celtics down by two and the end of their season just 12 minutes away, Tatum came roaring to life to lead his team to victory. He singlehandedly outscored the 76ers in the quarter, putting up 16 points while knocking down four big three-pointers. From 4:14 left in the game to the 1:53 mark, Tatum hit three straight threes to help swing a two-point deficit into an eight-point lead.
Tatum finally looked like the superstar he’s expected to be, and after the game he sounded like it, too. Asked by ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth how he had the confidence to still trust himself in the fourth quarter, Tatum had an epic response.
“I’m, humbly, one of the best basketball players in the world,” Tatum said.
Humble or not, Tatum is, of course, right. And it’s encouraging to hear him say it, because there have been times where we’ve wondered if Tatum really does embrace that role and everything that comes along with it.
He has had too many quiet playoff games for anyone’s liking. He struggled to make shots throughout last spring’s NBA Finals, and scored just 13 points in a season-ending Game 6 loss. He had a seven-point game earlier this series. His first-half shooting has been brutal all series, with WEEI’s Justin Turpin noting that Tatum is now shooting 4-for-30 (13.3%) across his last three first halves and has missed his last 19 first-quarter shot attempts.
That needs to change, obviously. While the Celtics survived Tatum not showing up offensively until the fourth quarter on Thursday, that is not a recipe to win a championship. At some point, the Celtics are going to need Tatum to start strong and give them a four-quarter effort. Sunday’s Game 7 at TD Garden would be a good time for it.
There have, understandably, been some concerns from fans and media that Tatum seems to shrink when the lights are the brightest. In the fourth quarter of Game 6 and in his postgame interview with ESPN, Tatum finally looked and sounded like someone who embraces that spotlight.
That interview wasn’t all about him. He made sure to give plenty of credit to his teammates, too.
“You go through struggles, you go through slumps. It’s a long game,” he added. “Thankfully I’ve got some great teammates that held it down – Brogdon, JB, Smart, Al. And they all trusted me. They told me to keep taking great looks, it’s gonna fall, and keep impacting the game in other ways. All that mattered was we won this game. Give ourselves another chance, come back home for a Game 7.”
Tatum’s work is just beginning. The Celtics need to see that fourth-quarter Tatum more often, and earlier in games, if they’re going to win Game 7 and go on to accomplish their ultimate goal of winning a title. But in words and actions, Thursday night ended on an encouraging note.
Related
