The Boston Celtics weren’t expected to struggle much against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, even after it was announced that star center Kristaps Porzingis would be out. Missed series due to calf injury. Boston looked dominant in its Game 1 win over the Cavs. The second game didn’t go as planned at all.
Cleveland defeated the Celtics 118-94 in an amazing result that sent them back to Ohio to even the series. The game was tied at halftime, and the Cavs defeated Boston in the third and fourth quarters. Evan Mobley put together his best offensive game of the playoffs (21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists), Caris LeVert scored another 21 points off the bench, and Donovan Mitchell (29 points) brought the Cavaliers home from there. Ta.
Boston looked absolutely terrible in the second half, shooting 36 percent from the floor and 2-of-18 from 3-point range in the final two quarters. Jayson Tatum should be leading the Celtics in this tough situation, but instead he appeared passive and uninvolved in the game. Tatum scored 25 points that night, but had little impact on the game. It feels like Derrick White has been Boston’s best player so far in the playoffs, not Tatum, and that doesn’t bode well for the Celtics’ championship chances.
After the game, Tatum had some strange words about the expectations Boston faces in the playoffs. Tatum said Boston isn’t a super team because they haven’t won many postseason awards. Watch the clip here:
Jayson Tatum on Celtics expectations: “It’s the kind of story you see on TV, the idea that we have a super team. It’s twofold. We didn’t have a Coach of the Year, we didn’t have an MVP. We didn’t have an All-Star. It was just the two of us. They say we’re a super team, but we weren’t rewarded as much as we were.” pic.twitter.com/kWhHv4afDM
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) May 10, 2024
The Celtics won 64 games this year, 14 more than any other team in the Eastern Conference. They had the league’s best net rating by a mile. With the way the Eastern Conference has played this year, with Giannis Antetokounmpo’s season-ending injury leading to the Bucks’ early exit and Joel Embiid’s injury wreaking havoc on the 76ers, there’s no excuse not to at least make the 2024 NBA Finals. The team probably won’t have one. The Knicks are facing at least three injuries in their rotation.
Tatum sounds like he’s making excuses — hey, we’re actually not that good! –And no one wants to hear those words. So far, Tatum’s numbers have dropped considerably from the regular season to the playoffs. His scoring dropped from 37.1 points per 100 possessions to 30.4 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs, and his actual shooting percentage dropped from 60.4 percent to 54.5 percent. That’s not great.
Tatum was bombarded with brutal dunks on social media after the loss.
Jayson Tatum plays basketball like someone who is rooting for Drake and is disappointed in his performance
— Negative Dunks (@negativedunks) May 10, 2024
Jayson Tatum looks like Tobias Harris’ Michael Jordan
— Anthony (@omgitsbirdman) May 10, 2024
Tatum had Paul George syndrome.He beats the defender and is about to take three steps back.
— Stysky (@spurlgin) May 9, 2024
We ranked the Celtics as the team most likely to win the championship as of the start of the second round. That won’t be the case unless Tatum stops making excuses and starts taking shots.
