The Boston Celtics are now in serious danger of a shock playoff exit at the hands of the New York Knicks.
The Celtics lost Game 1 at home, 108-105, but many thought it was a one-off and that they would still comfortably advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Now, after losing Game 2, 91-90, the next fixture at Madison Square Garden has suddenly become a must-win in their title defense.
The key reason for the Celtics’ shortcomings has been star player Jayson Tatum’s poor performances.
The 26-year-old scored just 37 points in the first two games combined, and NBA expert Chris Broussard has brought up something Michael Jordan once said as a possible reason.
Chris Broussard makes Michael Jordan point about Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Jordan is arguably the greatest player of all time, yet he was no better than an average three-point shooter in his prime.
However, Tatum and the Celtics attempt an unbelievable amount of threes, which sometimes leads to being too one-dimensional.
Broussard recalled a famous Jordan quote about long-range shooting after a playoff game, which Joe Mazzulla’s team should probably take note of.
“I want to share my theory quickly,” Broussard explained. “Show that last play that Tatum had, because I’m wondering, when you get so used to hunting for threes throughout the season, the three is the easy way out.
“Now, it’s a smart shot obviously, because it’s worth three points, but it’s kind of the easy way out. That’s their whole strategy: penetrate to kick it out for an open three, other guys spotting up. And even if it’s a bit contested…
“There’s a viral clip you guys may have seen of Michael Jordan talking… remember after he hit all those threes in a Finals game, and he was saying, ‘I don’t want to become a great three-point shooter because it would take away from other elements to my game.’
“They don’t seem as comfortable when you’ve got to get some real resistance in trying to create mid-range shots. He got the match-up he wanted. You wanted Mitchell Robinson.
“He loses his dribble, he dribbles into three Knicks. I feel like, instinctively, he kind of wanted to step back and take the three because that’s what he’s done all year.”
Chris Broussard blames Jayson Tatum more than any other player
While Tatum wasn’t the only player to underperform in the Celtics’ recent defeats, he’s come under the most scrutiny.
This is typical in the NBA, where the superstars have always received most of the praise and the lion’s share of criticism.
“Look, there’s a lot of blame to go around,” Broussard added. “Mazzulla with the hack-a-Mitchell, fouling Mitchell Robinson, putting them in the bonus was bad. Jaylen Brown [scoring] three points in the second half and none in the fourth quarter; he wasn’t good.
“But you’re the best player, Jayson Tatum. You’re the guy who said he wants to win MVP. You’re the guy who, this season, was supposed to be about showing that you are indeed a playoff performer and winning Finals MVP. You’re the guy who’s going to be First Team All-NBA.
“So, when your team doesn’t perform, it is ultimately on you. A lot of blame to go around, but ultimately, Jayson Tatum more than anybody has to wear this loss.”
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