There wasn’t too much room for panicking for the Boston Celtics in the first round against the Miami Heat, but it only took one game for the Cleveland Cavaliers to prove that they can’t be taken lightly in a playoff series.
The 118-94 game 2 loss at home was a slap in the face to Boston, as they learned how hard it will be to overcome a Donovan Mitchell team, as he has the capacity to takeover a game and carry his team to victory.
It’s fair to say that the Cavaliers are taking advantage of Jayson Tatum’s inefficiency so far in the playoffs. In Game 2 on Thursday, Tatum scored 25-points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field. In the fourth quarter, Tatum only scored two-points on two shot attempts, unable to produce for the Celtics when it was needed the most.
Tatum averaged 26.9 points per game during the regular season, which ranked seventh in the NBA. He’s averaging 21.7 points per game in the playoffs, which ranks 19th through the first round, ninth in the second round, and surprisingly second on his own team.
The shooting inefficiencies haven’t improved throughout the playoffs. Tatum went from 47.1 percent shooting in the regular season to only 40.7 percent in the playoffs. It’s too much of a drop for the Celtics to be successful in the playoffs.
As many Celtics fans feel similarly, ESPN’s Zach Low, feels strongly that the Celtics need to get more out of Tatum on offense and for him to be more consistent, as he said on Get Up on Friday.
“Derrick White’s been the best player on the Boston Celtics in the playoffs and at some point that’s gonna have to become Jayson Tatum if they’re gonna get where they want to go.”
The series shifts to Cleveland for the next two games, where Boston needs to take one back in this series. This will be a great opportunity for Tatum to step up and be the best player on the court.
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