Jayson Tatum had another great year in the NBA during the recently concluded season as he played at the All-NBA level and led the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals. He had some great moments throughout the year, especially in the last months of the regular season. His lockout of Kevin Durant in the first round of the playoffs was terrific and set championship expectations on him.
Tatum appeared in three Eastern Conference Finals and made his first NBA Finals appearance this season, where the Golden State Warriors easily won the title against Boston. JT’s performance in the Finals was disappointing, as a combination of Warriors fullbacks managed to tire the former Duke star through ineffective nights.
ESPN’s Tim Legler thinks Tatum is going to be under pressure now because the Celtics will have championship expectations from day one and Tatum can’t disappear in the Finals anymore.
“I think Jayson Tatum is under pressure,” Legler said. “…Jayson Tatum didn’t play well in the NBA Finals. He was dominated by the best player in Golden State. … This is a team that now expects to win it all, and Jayson Tatum didn’t play well when they got to that final stage. He’s going to have to answer that. Regardless of what he does in the regular season, people will be waiting to see, when those lights are at their peak, will he be better than last year and help lead Boston to a championship?
There may be an explanation for Tatum’s struggles in the Finals if you look at the path the Celtics took. Outside of the Brooklyn Nets’ first round, the Celtics played a seven-game series against the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat before facing the Warriors, meaning Tatum could have been gassed by the time the Finals came around.
That can’t happen again, and Tatum will most likely spend his offseason working on his body to make sure he can get as far in the playoffs as possible.