After dominating the powerhouse Brooklyn Nets, taking care of the defending champions Milwaukee Bucks and eliminating the No. 1 seed Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, Jayson Tatum couldn’t deliver in the 2022 NBA Finals, losing to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
The young forward was a shell of himself during the matchup, unable to make an impact on the game, leaving his team helpless against a well-rounded and well-coached Warriors who cashed in on every opportunity the Celtics gave them.
Tatum earned a lot of criticism thanks to his poor performance, and many fans picked on him for not showing up. On the other side, some people understood what he went through and offered some advice to the former No. 3 overall pick.
Reggie Miller recently joined the Dan Patrick Show to discuss a variety of topics. The Indiana Pacers legend went further to give some encouraging words for the young forward, talking from his own experience.
Via Sportscasting:
“Understand and relish in the disappointment of that series versus Golden State,” Miller said when Patrick asked what advice he’d give Tatum. “It’s painful. I’ve been there.
“At 24, the future is bright. To me, his star is only going to ascent and rise. If he can take that pain of how that felt and use it to his advantage, I think the Celtics have something special brewing there.”
Patrick told Miller that Tatum’s game is concerning because it’s “sloppy.”
“I’m not worried about Jayson Tatum,” Miller said. “I know it’s disappointing because we were ready to anoint him. I get it, but you can’t discredit what he did throughout this postseason against some of the all-time greats in our game.”
Tatum is still young. He’s yet to reach his prime to lead the Celtics to the promised land. They have a solid core that can do a lot of great things in the league. Perhaps this is only the beginning for JT to do something good in the league. He has the talent, his team is hungry to compete and if his mindset doesn’t change, he can do big things with the C’s.
