The Boston Celtics are now up 2-0 in the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, but that certainly isn’t thanks to Jayson Tatum’s scoring. Tatum hasn’t been scoring at the rate or efficiency that you’d expect of him, but the star forward stated after Game 2 that he is focusing on dominating the game in other ways.
“I’d love to have back some of those layups I missed and the open threes. Law of averages says they’ll come back. But my focus right now is how can I dominate the game in other ways? My defense, my passing, my rebounding. That’s what I’m focused on.”
Tatum only had 18 points on 6-22 shooting from the field in Game 2, but did also record 9 rebounds, 12 assists, and 1 steal. The Mavericks’ defense has loaded up on the 26-year-old a fair bit in this series and he has responded to all that defensive attention by excelling as a playmaker.
Tatum has also been immense on the glass for the Celtics in this series and has defended at a fairly high level. I think it’s fair to criticize the five-time All-Star for his struggles from a scoring standpoint, but it should also be acknowledged just how impactful he has been in the Finals for the Celtics.
For the series, Tatum is now averaging 17.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. In the past, we have seen players of Tatum’s caliber develop tunnel vision and want to put up those big scoring numbers on the big stage, but the Celtics star has shown a willingness to make the right basketball play instead. The reason for that? Well, he spoke at length about it postgame.
“I’ve been here before, and we didn’t win,” Tatum said. “And it’s just like, we’re so close to what we’re trying to accomplish. Why would I let my ego or my need to score all the points get in the way of that? There are going to be times where I need to score. Obviously, I need to shoot better, golly.
“We always talk about, do whatever it takes, for however long it takes,” Tatum continued. “And if I need to have 16 potential assists every single night, and that’s what puts us in the best position to win and doesn’t mean I’m the leading scorer, by all means, if that gives us the best chance to win, sign me up.”
“I’ve been here before and we didn’t win. We’re so close to what we’re trying to accomplish. Why would I let my ego or my need to score get in the way of that?”
Jayson Tatum on his playmaking ability and willingness to do whatever the team needs to win 🙌 pic.twitter.com/N08R2zBEn2
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 10, 2024
That is certainly the mindset I would want a star to have. You do what your team needs you to do, to get the win on any given night. If that means being a facilitator and sacrificing your scoring, so be it. LeBron James has done just that over the course of his storied career and his teams have had success thanks to that.
All that being said, Tatum does need to do better when he does attempt to score. He is shooting just 31.5% from the field in the series and that isn’t good enough. I think there will come a point in these Finals where the Celtics are going to need him to perform like the elite scorer that he is and he has to deliver in that situation.
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