Getty Image / Winslow Townson
It’s a put-up-or-shut-up postseason for the Boston Celtics core. Most believe the team, led by superstar wing Jayson Tatum, is the most talented team in the league.
Tatum and his sidekick Jaylen Brown have yet to win a title despite a few deep playoff runs, but they’ve never had this much talent around them, either. They will have to have better 4th quarters than the one they had on Wednesday, as the Miami Heat rallied for a stunning upset over the heavily favored Celtics in Boston, 111-101.
The Miami Heat, the 8th seed in the East, are without their best player in perennial playoff hero Jimmy Butler. For them to beat the 64-win Celtics, they have to shoot well from the perimeter. They did that on Wednesday, going 23-43 from three-point range, two shy of the all-time NBA record.
But, the Celtics still should’ve overcome that, given the talent disparity. It wasn’t as if Jayson Tatum is solely to blame for the loss. In fact, star center Kristaps Porziņģis was just 1-9 from the field and had a +/- of -32 in 30 minutes.
That being said, Jayson Tatum’s fourth quarter was a clunker. The Celtics entered the quarter down six, a lead that shouldn’t have been hard for a team as good as them to overcome.
Tatum played the entire quarter, but was just 1/3 from the field for 4 points as the Heat extended their lead. That’s simply not good enough for someone who is a prime MVP candidate due partly to being a great scorer.
People online took notice. Granted, one of those people was Skip Bayless. But, you get the point.
Once again, I'm still not sure about Jayson Tatum.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 25, 2024
someone’s favorite player is jayson tatum LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOO
— nancy🦦 (@creamcarrier) April 25, 2024
Jayson Tatum in the 4th pic.twitter.com/iORvAuUPdA
— playoff🏀_J (@AnyTimeKnicks) April 25, 2024
The Miami Heat, despite stealing a road game, are unlikely to win this series. The team is simply not good enough offensively, especially without Jimmy Butler, to win three more of these games.
That being said, it’s championship or bust for the Boston Celtics. If they want to get back to the promised land for the first time since 2008, Jayson Tatum is going to need to be aggressive in the 4th quarter.
The two teams are back in action Saturday evening in Miami.