Meet Angry Jayson Tatum.
He’s got his shooting hand taped from his wrist up to his thumb, he’s averaging 36.5 points per game across Games 3 and 4, and he looks mighty sick of the Orlando Magic.
All you (beloved) sports radio callers who have asked, for years, for Tatum to play mad? This Jay’s for you. He’s pissed off, he’s in pain, and he’s playing beautifully.
Tatum missed the first playoff game of his eight-year career in Game 2 against the Orlando Magic after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope sent him down hard on the parquet floor with what was rule a Flagrant 1 foul. The hard play resulted in a bone bruise on Tatum’s shooting wrist.
The Tatum who’s emerged since then? Fantastic. In a 107-98 Game 4 win, he looked in total control of his offensive game. He drove downhill and finish over Franz Wagner. He leaned into Paolo Banchero and faded back to create shooting space. He drew fouls from behind the arc, and then went 14-14 from the free throw line, buoying the Celtics’ at-times precarious lead.
On the other end of the floor, he grabbed 11 defensive rebounds and nabbed three steals.
He also got into some extracurriculars that, quite frankly, were endearing. With less than a minute left on the game clock, Tatum hit Caldwell-Pope with a hard shoulder and Caldwell-Pope returned the favor with a big shove. Both guys earned technical fouls and Tatum was caught on the broadcast camera with a huge smile, laughing. He and Caldwell-Pope actually have a familiarity off the court – the two have worked out together with Tatum’s longtime personal basketball skills coach, Drew Hanlen. Tatum will never be villainous, but he showed a little vinegar in the moment. KCP is a guy he’s connected with, but there’s no love lost in this brutal first round. It was his second dust-up in the game.
After suffering their first loss of the playoffs in Game 3, despite Tatum’s 36 points, the Celtics needed another big night from him. Playing Orlando looks exhausting.
“At the end of the day, both teams are playing physical,” coach Joe Mazzulla said postgame. (It’s worth noting that before the game, when NBC Sports Boston’s Drew Carter asked Mazzulla whether Orlando has gone too far with their physicality, and his response was, “No one’s been arrested.”)
The Magic are a coven of basketball vampires. They drain energy from their opponents as the game wears on, slapping and clawing their way back into games they have no business tying with four minutes left. It takes physical and mental toughness to keep a lead against them, and Tatum was in the driver’s seat all game.
He got solid support from his fellow starters. Kristaps Porzingis grinded through the first quarter, getting to the hoop to force his own production before finally busting out of a three-game shooting slump before he got into early foul trouble. Derrick White was Mr. On-Time as always in the fourth quarter, and Jaylen Brown – though obviously not feeling his best with a banged up knee and dislocated finger – added 21 points and 10 rebounds. Al Horford posted a Kareem-like five blocks and several late game boards.
But the bench was mostly a no-show. It was nice to see Sam Hauser make two 3-pointers, but Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet both laid goose eggs, with Pritchard only attempting two 3-pointers. He’s a big piece of the Celtics’ ability to get those shots up from behind the arc, especially when Jrue Holiday remains out with a hamstring injury, but the Magic’s perimeter defense has overwhelmed him.
The Orlando bench outscored Boston’s 14 to 6, and that could have been the difference in a game like this one, without another historic-level performance from Tatum.
As multiple broadcasts noted, Tatum moved into second place in most playoffs games with 30+ points, slotting himself behind only Larry Bird.
This Orlando series is downright ugly and Boston should close it out in Game 5 back at home. They’re already battered and bruised early in their playoff run. Hopefully, through this challenge, Tatum’s tapped into something he can carry with him for the rest of the way.