Prior to the 2022 NBA Finals, Jayson Tatum had a phenomenal playoff run. He was one of the biggest reasons why the Celtics got past the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Miami Heat.
Evidently, fans expected a similar level of performance from the 24-year-old in the 2022 NBA Finals. Unfortunately, it feels like Tatum forgot to bring his form to the NBA Finals.
In five games so far, Tatum has struggled to play well. As a result, the Boston Celtics are struggling to compete against the Golden State Warriors. It is obvious from the fact that the series is currently 3-2 in favor of the Warriors.
While the Celtics can still make a comeback, they won’t be able to do so without the help of Tatum. Unfortunately, not many people have faith left in JT to turn the series around after seeing his performances in the last five games.
When almost every NBA analyst is targeting Tatum and blasting him with criticism, Chris Broussard has decided to do something different. Yes, he agrees that Tatum hasn’t played like a superstar in the finals, but he pointed out that many all-time greats have also struggled in the NBA Finals during their respective careers.
Moreover, this is relatively more common during the first NBA Finals appearance for any star in the league.
"Jayson Tatum is not playing like a superstar but that doesn't remove his superstar status. … It's not unusual for a superstar to struggle in their first Finals, especially under these circumstances." — @Chris_Broussard pic.twitter.com/5twQvpNZuz
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) June 13, 2022
“He is not playing like a superstar, but that doesn’t remove his superstar status. Many superstars have not played like superstars in the Finals, particularly their first Finals. Larry Bird arguably the greatest Celtic ever. In his first Finals he had two 8-point games back to back. Three-for-11 shooting in each game. … Magic Johnson – Tragic Johnson, we didn’t kick him out of club superstar. LeBron’s first finals against the Spurs he shot 35% from the floor, he averaged 22 points. … Jayson Tatum is 24 years old, he is in his fifth season after just playing one year of college basketball. Do the history, all the guys at that young of an age that have led teams to championships. Either had another veteran superstar, Magic-Kareem, Bird-three Hall of Famers, D-Wade-Shaq, Tim Duncan-David Robinson. … It’s not unusual for a superstar to struggle in their first Finals, especially under these circumstances.”
As Broussard explained, winning an NBA Championship is not an easy task. Even more so, when you are a young star in the league, without the help of another veteran player on your team.
So even if Tatum and co. lose this matchup against the Warriors, they will gain experience from it. That experience will help them try and possibly win a ring in the future.
