How Tatum’s maturity has helped lift Celtics to 2-0 Finals lead

How Tatum’s maturity has helped lift Celtics to 2-0 Finals lead originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

It’s one thing to talk about putting the team ahead of individual stats. It’s quite another for your superstar player to fully embrace a facilitator role on the NBA’s biggest stage, a day after the opposing coach suggested that player wasn’t even the best on his own team.

But that’s what Jayson Tatum has done through two games of the 2024 NBA Finals, and it’s a big reason why the Boston Celtics are heading to Texas with a 2-0 series lead over the Dallas Mavericks.

Tatum had another poor shooting night in Sunday’s Game 2 at TD Garden, going 6 for 22 from the floor and 1 for 7 from 3-point range to finish with 18 points. The First-Team All-NBA selection was the best passer on the court, however, racking up 12 assists — tied for the second-most of his career — including a playoff career-high eight dimes in the first half.

The Celtics’ leading scorer throughout the season was the clear subject of Dallas’ attention on defense Sunday night, so he willingly pivoted to setting up teammates Jrue Holiday (team-high 26 points), Jaylen Brown (21 points) and Derrick White (18 points), who helped lift Boston to a 105-98 win.

“I mean, every time I’d take a couple dribbles, like three people were right there,” Tatum said after the game about the Mavs’ defensive strategy. “We’ve got a bunch of shooters on our team and guys that can space the floor. They kept leaving Jrue open, so it wasn’t like I had to do anything spectacular. It was just about finding the open guy.”

Tatum’s passing in Game 2 wasn’t an aberration. He handed out five assists in Game 1 despite another quiet offensive night (16 points on 6 of 16 shooting) and leads all players through two Finals games in potential assists (13.5) and assist points created (20.0).

“The emphasis and where he’s grown over the last two years is to take what the defenses give him and learn to impact the game in many different ways,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Tatum after the game. “Because of the type of team that we’ve had, especially this year, he’s seen a bunch of…

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Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-06-10 13:53:57

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