Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose among 35 rotating taps and 200+ beers in the cooler.
I have tried to love Jayson Tatum. I really have.
The former Duke one-and-doner now plays for the Boston Celtics, the pro basketball team I have rooted for all my life. Tatum, the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NBA draft, has gradually become one of the best players in the game.
But there is still something I cannot stand about him, and only part of it is because he’s a Dukie. Tatum is averaging 30 points per game this season, 8.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists and shoots 46 percent from the floor. Great stats that have kept him in the MVP discussion all season.
But when he is expected to step up in certain games or at crunch time at the end, he disappears. In what was supposed to be the close out of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, Tatum pulled off his Houdini act once again. He missed 9 of 10 3-point shots, lost his cool and was assessed a costly technical foul for yelling at the refs near the end of the Atlanta Hawks’ sensational upset win in Beantown. Most of the Celtics, who went 57-25 in the regular season, complain after pretty much every foul called against them, and that can kill their concentration in the clutch.
This time, the heavy underdog Hawks, No. 7 seed in the NBA East, trailed almost the entire game, including by 13 points with 6 minutes left. But Tatum and his teammates like Marcus Smart, who in my opinion can be pretty stupid at times, allowed Atlanta to rally and win on three very long 3-pointers by scoring point guard Trae Young. It was as bad as the Canes also losing Game 5 at home.
I am sorry, in his sixth NBA campaign, Tatum can’t just have a great regular season. He has to step up in the playoffs and do what is expected of him by the unforgiving Boston fans. He failed Tuesday night on the big stage, and even if the Celts eventually beat the Hawks and move on, Tatum has lost his MVP chances.
Tatum should take a lesson from his co-All-Star Jaylen Brown, the former Cal-Berkeley star, who accepts every whistle and keeps his head in the game. Brown scored 35 points in the loss but did miss 4 of 5 crucial free throws.
Look, I am not being a sore loser, because the series now moves back to Atlanta for Game 6 with the Celtics up 3-2 in the best-of-seven. But Tatum lights my hair on fire with his disinterested play in most critical times.
And, believe me, I have moved on from him being a Dukie. Mostly!
Featured image via Associated Press/Charles Krupa
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
