It’s been a rough series so far for Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. Through the first two games of the second-round matchup, the Celtics have dropped both contests at home, and Tatum has struggled to find his rhythm offensively.
The former Duke standout shot just 7-for-23 from the field and 4-for-15 from beyond the arc in Game 1. Things didn’t get much better in Game 2, where he went 5-for-19 from the floor and only 1-for-5 from three-point range.
This comes from a player who averaged 26.8 points per game during the regular season. With Boston now heading to New York trailing 2-0 in the series, their hopes of defending last year’s NBA title are suddenly on shaky ground.
On Thursday’s edition of “Get Up,” ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins had strong words for Tatum.
“At some point, Jayson Tatum’s gotta say, ‘I’m the best player on the floor. I cannot be guarded.’…He’s one of the most elite scorers in the game today, and I just don’t see that tenacity. I don’t see that dog in him.”
“At some point, Jayson Tatum’s gotta say, ‘I’m the best player on the floor. I cannot be guarded.’ … He’s one of the most elite scorers in the game today, and I just don’t see that tenacity. I don’t see that dog in him.”
—@KendrickPerkins after the Celtics’ Game 2 loss to the… pic.twitter.com/9cuPVNw3aV
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 8, 2025
Tatum’s level of intensity has been a topic before, including during the Olympics. In five games in Paris, he averaged just 4.2 points per game. He was benched for two of those games and played only 11 minutes in the gold medal matchup against Serbia.
Still, Tatum has been remarkably consistent for Boston. He’s averaged at least 23 points per game in each of the last six seasons. During the 2024-25 regular season, he finished at 26.8 points per game.
In the 2023 postseason, he played in 19 games, shooting 42.7% from the field and 28.3% from three. The Celtics went on to defeat the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.
Game 3 of the current series is set for Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The teams will remain in New York for Game 4 on Monday night. If the Celtics manage to even the series, Game 5 will take place in Boston on Wednesday.
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