With the Boston Celtics trailing the Miami Heat 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals, Shaquille O'Neal is looking for Jayson Tatum to raise his game. Tatum struggled during important moments in Boston, and now the Celtics must win at least two games in Miami to eliminate the Heat and reach the 2023 NBA Finals.
“Jayson Tatum — you want to be good, want to be great, or do you want to be one of the greatest Celtics ever?” Shaquille O'Neal told Heavy Sports. “With him, being All-NBA, he’s going to have to step up. Game 7 (against the Philadelphia 76ers)? That’s what you call stepping up. So he’s going to have to be there or a little bit under that.”
The Celtics reached the conference finals because Tatum exploded for 51 points in Game 7 of Boston's second-round matchup with Philadelphia. Tatum has put up big scoring numbers against the Heat, but O'Neal believes that the Celtics' top star must do more.
Tatum scored 30 points in Game 1 against the Heat and 34 points in Game 2. The 25-year-old shot at least 50% from the field in both games and is averaging 10.0 rebounds per contest. But Tatum has failed to make a single field goal in the fourth quarter against Miami, allowing the Heat to head home with a 2-0 series lead before Game 3.
While Tatum has played poorly in crunch time, Miami's best player has stepped up. Jimmy Butler scored nine points in the second half of the Game 2 fourth quarter, leading yet another Heat comeback. In the series opener, Boston blew a 12-point second-half lead.
This is not how the Celtics-Heat series was expected to go. The Celtics started the series as heavy favorites to win the conference finals. With a 2-0 series lead, Butler and Miami now have the edge over Tatum and Boston.
O'Neal won four championships in his Hall-of-Fame career, including a title with the Heat. Tatum is in search of his first ring.
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