Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum will always have people's attention on him, especially in the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. It does not matter if Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd thinks that Tatum is not the best Boston player; Tatum will always have eyeballs on him. Such is the reason that Tatum got relentlessly mocked in the early going of Sunday night's Game 2 of the series between Boston and the Mavs.
Fans pounce on Jayson Tatum after slow start
Tatum just did not have it in the first two periods of Game 2, at least in terms of shooting. The former Duke Blue Devils star went just 2/10 from the floor and bricked all three of his attempts from behind the arc in the first half. That led to all sorts of trolling and criticism online directed at Tatum.
“You could replace Jayson Tatum with Josh Hart and there would be no difference for Boston in this series,” said @BarryOnHere.
“Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 2 points in the 1st quarter 😭”
“Tatum playing like it’s his first time in the NBA Finals,” said former Celtics big man Kendrick Perkins.
“Tatum lucky his team don’t really rely on him to take over much. He’s just not that guy for that,” @swishout posted.
“Tatum when he humps the air into a 3 pointer in the 4th quarter to extend a comfortable lead”
“Jayson Tatum seeing he’s expected to be the best player on the team”
From @semaJ7272: “Tatum loves killing all the momentum with those mid range shots he hasn’t hit since 2019”
“Jayson Tatum shooting so far tonight.”
“Tatum “superstar” chain”
“Jayson Tatum in the NBA Finals”
“Tatum in the first half”
“If Kobe was alive watching this shitter from Jayson Tatum”
Despite all the trolling, Tatum and the Celtics got the last laugh, as they came away with a 105-98 win in Game 2 –and more importantly, a 2-0 series lead. And even though Tatum hit just six of his 22 shots from the field and went 1/7 from behind the arc for an inefficient 18 points overall, he still ended up with a plus-6 — same with Jrue Holiday, who shot 11/14 for 26 points.
For one, Tatum made up for his cold shooting with great court awareness, as he dished out a total of 12 dimes while also grabbing nine boards. Tatum made some defensive plays as well, including one late in regulation when he caused a Kyrie Irving turnover while the Mavericks were trying to make a last push for a comeback bid.
Celtics in cruise control of the series vs. Dallas
In Game 2, the Celtics showed everyone again that they could win without needing explosive offensive performances from Tatum, thanks to their immense depth and great team play overall. As mentioned, Holiday went off with a vintage performance. Jaylen Brown had 21 points on 8/15 shooting from the floor, while Derrick White chipped in 18 points while providing excellent defense as usual, coming up with three steals and two blocks to go with five rebounds.
After going unblemished at TD Garden in the first two games of the series, the Celtics will head to The Big D, where they will look to bury the Mavericks in a deeper hole. For what it's worth, Boston has won in both of its last two games in Dallas.
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