Jayson Tatum Calls Out NBA Critics: Celtics 'Didn't Get Rewarded ...
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
On the heels of a surprising 118-94 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum defended his club while pushing back on the notion they are a superteam.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Tatum explained the Celtics often get discussed like a superteam even though they "didn't get rewarded like" one (6:35 mark):
The Celtics had a dominant regular season that in some ways put them alongside some of the best teams in NBA history. Their 64 wins tied the 2021-22 Phoenix Suns for the most by any club in the past six seasons.
Boston's net rating of plus-11.6 tied the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors for the third-best mark in NBA history. The only teams ahead of the Celtics are the 1995-96 and 1996-97 Chicago Bulls.
Despite that regular-season success, the Celtics weren't much of a factor in awards voting. Brad Stevens did get rewarded with the Executive of the Year award. Joe Mazzulla was fourth in Coach of the Year voting. Tatum finished sixth in MVP voting.
Thursday's game was the second double-digit loss for the Celtics in this postseason. They rebounded from a 111-101 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the first round to win the next three games by an average of 22.7 points to end the series in five games.
There was nothing the Celtics did right in their loss to the Cavs. They shot 41.3 percent from the field (8-of-35 from three-point range), while Cleveland connected on 54.7 percent of its field-goal attempts and all five starters shot at least 50 percent.
Not having Kristaps Porziņģis, who is nursing a calf injury that has kept him out for the past three games, is impacting what the Celtics want to do on both ends of the court. But it's hard to use his absence as an excuse for this loss when they won the past two games without him by a combined 59 points.
Tatum is right that the Celtics haven't been rewarded like a superteam. It's because they have yet to play like one and often play down to their opponents in the playoffs.
The Celtics fell behind 3-0 to the No. 8 seed Heat last year in the Eastern Conference Finals before winning three straight to force Game 7 on their home court. They scored a season-low 84 points in that game and lost by 19.
Until Tatum and the Celtics win a title, there will always be a stigma that they aren't built to win in the playoffs.
