Jayson Tatum’s 2022 postseason run didn’t end well on a personal or team level. The 24-year-old had been simply spectacular on their way to the NBA Finals, with the highlight during that run being that 46-point explosion in Game 6 in Milwaukee with the Celtics facing elimination. He seemed primed to have an outstanding Finals to cap it all off but things went south in a hurry.
Tatum averaged 21.5 points per game in the Finals while shooting just 36.7% from the field and his free throw shooting was perhaps even worse, at just 65.6%. Andrew Wiggins clamped him down towards the end of the series and it has somewhat overshadowed his great play to get to that stage. While the criticism continues to pour in from all sides, Jayson’s dad had some words of encouragement for his son on Instagram.
Justin Tatum is right that his son can hold his head high and he gave it his all during this run. He led the playoffs in points as well as assists and the Celtics would have been out of the picture long before the Finals if it weren’t for his heroics. The best way for him to silence his critics would be to work on his game to come back stronger next season and help the Celtics get over the finish line.
He spoke after Game 6 about how much it hurt and how they lacked some poise and didn’t take care of the ball, which is pretty much on point. The stats scream it out too as Tatum set the record for turnovers in a single postseason with 100 and he needs to get better at that aspect of his game. Knowing him, he is going to do just that and something tells us this won’t be the last we see of Tatum on the NBA’s biggest stage.
