With the 2024 NBA finals currently underway, Jayson Tatum recently revealed why his struggle to contribute offensively towards his team’s success has not impacted him greatly. Fans will know that the ongoing NBA Finals is a matchup between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks.
Although Jayson Tatum is considered a top-10 player in the league and a potential face of the NBA, he has not been scoring well in the first 2 games of the Finals and has struggled in terms of shooting. During a recent interview, Tatum was questioned about his change in play style. With that being said, let us take a closer look at what JT had to say about his offensive impact in the 2024 NBA Finals.
Jayson Tatum doesn’t want his ego to get in the way of the Boston Celtics’ championship aspirations
Some fans may remember that Tatum was playing at an elite level throughout this season. In fact, he was a top 5 candidate for the MVP award. While there is no denying his incredible talent and ability, Tatum began to underperform as the postseason went on. As a result, it was Jaylen Brown who won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award for defeating the Indiana Pacers and advancing to the NBA Finals.
Tatum’s shooting struggles have continued so far in the 2024 NBA Finals. He scored just 16 points in Game 1 and 18 points in Game 2. However, Tatum had 12 assists in Game 2 and has clearly transformed into the facilitator for his team since his scoring grew inefficient. When asked about his assists in comparison to his scoring, this is what Tatum had to say.
Jayson Tatum reflects on primarily being a playmaker during these Finals:
“We’re so close to to what we’re trying to accomplish — why would I let my ego or need to score a lot of points get in the way of that?” pic.twitter.com/8Al9zCKTXz
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) June 10, 2024
“We’re so close to what we’re trying to accomplish — why would I let my ego or need to score a lot of points get in the way of that?”
While Tatum certainly has the right mindset by putting his team ahead of his individual success, fans did not completely buy into this new narrative and made their thoughts clear upon hearing the Celtics star’s statements.
Fans point out that Jayson Tatum took more shots than Luka Doncic in Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals
Keen-eyed fans who watched Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals pointed out that Tatum took more shots than Luka Doncic in that game. Therefore, his claim regarding ego doesn’t really hold much validity given the fact that he attempted several shots and only turned to facilitating after missing several good looks.
He took more shots then anyone else in the game lol even more then luka. 6-22. Luka took 21. So he did try to score a lot of points. lol
— Kenneth Lamb (@klamb33) June 10, 2024
Didn’t he take more shots than anyone else this game?? 🤔🤔
— david fili (@dfilimonchuk) June 10, 2024
In any case, the fact remains that the Celtics were able to win both their home games against the Mavericks despite Tatum not scoring at the expected level. Fans are left wondering if he will improve his shooting as the series heads to Dallas or will continue to facilitate for his team and get teammates involved.