Jayson Tatum points to the Celtics’ track record in the regular season after the Game 2 loss against the Cavaliers, saying he expects the team to respond well.
If you have concerns about the Boston Celtics' vexing 26-point home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, don't bring them to Jayson Tatum.
When asked about his team's mental state after a head-scratching defeat in which the Celtics allowed their highest point total of the playoffs (118), shot 22.9 percent from 3-point range (their second-lowest mark of the season) and recorded their second-lowest scoring output of the season (94 points), Tatum responded with a mini-monologue about expectations.
"We get it, right? The world thinks we’re never supposed to lose, we’re supposed to win every game by 25, and it’s just not going to be like that all the time," Tatum said. "We don’t expect it to be easy. It’s a good team we’re playing. It’s the second round of the playoffs. So, it’s just going to be fun the rest of this series, especially come Saturday (for Game 3).
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"We’ve bounced back plenty of times. We lost what, 16 games this year? So I’d like to think that we responded pretty well the few times that we did lose.”
Tatum was off by two -- the Celtics went 64-18 this season -- but to his point, Boston has yet to lose more than two games in a row and has only lost back-to-back games three times. They responded to a similarly ugly home loss to the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the first round by rolling to a 20-point win in Game 3 and taking Games 4 and 5 to win the series 4-1.
So, is there nothing to see here after Thursday's debacle at TD Garden? Are fans perhaps spoiled by the lofty bar the Celtics have set as clear title favorites?
"I mean, that's the narrative that you might see on TV," Tatum replied. "The idea that we have a superteam -- it's twofold, right? We didn't have Coach of the Year, we didn't have MVP, we only had two All-Stars.
"So, you say we're a superteam, but we didn't get rewarded like we are. But we know we've got a good team. We're not perfect. We play the right way more often than not, and we know we've got to be better."
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Tatum's response may not sit well with some Celtics fans; if the C's truly are about sacrifice -- a word they've repeated throughout the season while prioritizing team success over individual accolades -- why is Tatum lamenting the team's lack of public recognition? If Boston is the best team in basketball, why should it matter how many All-Stars the team has?
But those same fans also should be reassured that Tatum isn't hitting the panic button. Tatum often is the "ice" to Jaylen Brown's "fire" after losses like these, with Brown holding his teammates accountable -- "That was unacceptable," Brown said of the Celtics' defensive performance in Game 2 -- while Tatum insists his team will be OK.
And despite their postseason inconsistencies, the Tatum-Brown Celtics do have a track record of bouncing back: They trailed 3-2 in the 2022 and 2023 East semifinals before rallying to take Games 6 and 7 and win both series against the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, respectively.
It's possible those inconsistencies catch up to Boston at some point this postseason. But if history is any indication, we should expect a strong response from Tatum and Co. in Cleveland on Saturday night. Game 3 is set for 8:30 p.m. ET, with NBC Sports Boston's coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live.
