Recently, Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum has been besieged by criticism. Even after being named All-NBA first team for the third consecutive year, he could not escape critics.
Tatum averaged 26.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg and 4.9 assists per game this season while leading Boston to the best record in the league. He also finished sixth in the MVP voting.
Despite that, some criticize him by saying that teammate Jaylen Brown is the team’s star. Brown, a 3x All-Star who was left off the all-NBA list, averaged 23 ppg, 5 rpg and 3 apg this season.
Many see Brown as one of the best two-way wing players in the NBA, yet he has not received the attention or as many accolades as Tatum.
Even though Brown has not gotten the proper recognition, this postseason he’s showing why he deserved a spot on the all-NBA list. Brown recently had a 40-point performance which tied his playoff career high. Then, after sweeping the Pacers on Sunday night, he was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
Brown continues to impress during the postseason, which has many questioning who is the best player on the team.
The Celtics have needed Brown’s increased performance, particularly due to Tatum’s lack of three-point shooting efficiency. In his six previous postseasons, Tatum had shot 35% from the three-point line. But during this year’s playoffs, he’s shooting 29%.
Tatum’s overall playoff performance has been great. He’s averaging 26 ppg and has scored 30+ in four of the last seven games. In Game 3 against the Pacers, when Boston needed him most, Tatum stepped up and dropped 36 while adding 10 rebounds and 8 assists without a single turnover.
The Celtics are 12-2 in the playoffs, and at times Boston didn’t need big nights from Tatum as they were up double digits and his supporting cast, including Jrue Holiday, who always seems to play well in the playoffs, carried the load.
But to win a championship, the Celtics will need Tatum to deliver.
Overall, he’s having a good postseason, one that’s fairly similar to last year, the only glaring difference is three-point shooting.
But he deserved to be All-NBA First Team again, just as much as Jaylen Brown deserved to be on the second or third team. Both players are great and deserve the credit and recognition for their hard work.
And if Jayson Tatum wins the title, what does it matter what the critics say anyway?
