Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum is preparing for his fifth Eastern Conference Finals in seven seasons. While that’s an extraordinary feat for a 26-year-old, Tatum has garnered the reputation of an average playoff performer. With his team positioned to reach the NBA Finals, Tatum has another opportunity to prove his doubters wrong. But Tatum must play at an MVP level — something he hasn’t always done this postseason — for Boston to win convincingly in the Conference Finals. After that, Boston needs Tatum to play huge to get four more wins to secure the title.
Jayson Tatum’s Legacy is Already on The Line
After finishing the final three months of the 2021-22 NBA season as arguably the best player in the conference, Tatum hit a game-winner in the playoff opener against Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and the Brooklyn Nets.
In the following series, Tatum exploded for 29 points in a critical Game 2 win against two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. From there, Tatum and the Celtics maintained momentum, winning the conference and reaching the NBA Finals. Leading up to the championship round, Tatum was MVP-caliber averaging, 27.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. Tatum converted four or more three-pointers in 9 of the 18 games.
In 2024, Boston needs this version of Jayson Tatum if they want to enter the NBA Finals feeling confident in their chances. With either a hobbled Knicks team or the 6th-seed Pacers left in Boston’s path, the challenge won’t be winning for Boston. The challenge will be finding the best out of their best player. Boston has yet to find the best out of Tatum so far this postseason.
While his counting stats are All-Star-caliber — 24.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists — Tatum’s numbers are slightly down from 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in the regular season. The key stats are his shooting splits: 28 percent from 3 and 43 percent overall compared to 38 percent from 3 and 47 percent overall in the regular season.
Playoff Inconsistencies Continue for No. 0
There’s no denying that Tatum hasn’t shown up in some big games in his playoff career. Since first being named an NBA All-Star in 2020, Tatum has had 10 playoff games scoring 15 points or less. Boston is 3-7 in those games.
In the first round against the Miami Heat, Tatum averaged 21.8 points on 41 percent from the floor and 32 percent from the 3-point line: his worst series in any first, second, or third round of his career since the 2019 Semifinals vs Milwaukee. Again, it’s not that Boston needs Tatum to play all-world against beatable teams — Boston needs Tatum to play at an elite level so it helps translate in the later series. After playing down to his level in the first round — sure enough — Tatum came out flat in the second round vs Cleveland. He scored just 18 points on 37 percent from the field in Game 1. However, he would pick it up including two 33-point outings in Games 3 and 4 while eventually averaging 26 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists vs the Cavs.
Keys for Tatum in the East Finals
The Celtics remain massive favorites in the Eastern Conference. Barring an epic collapse, the Celtics will reach their second NBA Finals in 3 seasons. The key for Boston? To see a wire-to-wire elite series performance from Jayson Tatum. Boston is 17-9 in playoff games when Tatum scores 30 or more points.
The Celtics are 12-6 in Game 1s over Tatum’s career. The Celtics are 6-2 in playoff series in which Tatum scores 25+ points in Game 1. Tatum needs to set the tone out the gate, and Boston needs Tatum to perform consistently to reach their title aspirations.
