The top-seeded Boston Celtics suffered a shocking 24-point defeat against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2. Jayson Tatum drew the most flak for the blowout loss at home despite scoring 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. The win helped the Cavs tie the series 1-1 before the matchup moves to Cleveland on Saturday. Meanwhile, Gilbert Arenas defended Tatum from an onslaught of criticism before Game 3.
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Stephen A. Smith had warned Tatum that if he keeps performing like this, he is going to lose his status in the NBA world. The ESPN analyst had pointed out how the Celtics Wing is putting up 21.7 points on 40.7% shooting, which is way below his standards. The topic became a point of discussion on the Gil’s Arena podcast recently.
The Gil’s Arena crew also discussed Tatum’s inexplicable shooting slump. Kenyon Martin downplayed JT’s inefficiency and opined that he doesn’t need to be his “best” in the East playoffs since he has the most stacked roster around him.
On the other hand, Gilbert Arenas declared that the Celtics Forward hasn’t had his big moments in the playoffs because his Celts are just blowing everyone out of the water. Thus, Tatum hasn’t been required to be clutch thus far.
“This is not a three-point win, four-point win or a five-point win. He ain’t hitting no game-winners. He ain’t hitting no shots in the last five minutes, because he ain’t even in the game,” the 3x All-Star told his co-hosts.
Thus, for Martin and Arenas, Tatum’s struggles are not concerning since he has yet to face stiff competition. Agent Zero even quipped that the Celtics, instead of facing Jimmy Butler, are rather facing “Jimmy’s butler”.
However, Rashad McCants appeared concerned about Tatum’s “lethargic” attitude on the floor. He argued that the Celtics star’s indolence is quite visible to people who are watching the games. Contrastingly, Arenas remained convinced that his slump in performance is due to facing easier teams in the initial rounds.
To his point, the Celtics Forward has been largely inefficient and has shot below 40% in four of the seven games in the postseason so far. However, his squad has won all the games when his shooting percentage has been in the 30s. It indicates the depth of the Celtics and that’s why both Kenyon Martin and Gilbert Arenas aren’t sweating over Tatum’s shooting woes.
At the same time, this can be a concerning trend.
Does Tatum and his Celts have the killer gene?
During the last two postseasons, there have been instances of Tatum checking out in crucial moments. While he posted 25.3 points per game during the 2023 ECF series against the Heat, there were multiple instances when he was unable to stymie a Heat run. His Celts did tie the series after being down 0-3, but their regular lapses cost them a place in the NBA Finals.
While they did make the 2022 Finals against the Golden State Warriors, the Celts had similar shortcomings. Tatum was smothered by the Warriors’ defense and he shot below 40% in the majority of the games. Thus, his inability to perform in the big series has brought serious question marks on him.
On the flip side, the Celts won 63 games during the 2023-24 season, and pretty much look like a different team now. However, Tatum might want to provide his fans with a few strong showings, simply to keep the detractors off his back.
