Jayson Tatum has established himself as one of the major stars in the NBA, which means more is expected of the Boston Celtics wing than your typical player.
So when Tatum, who had 36 points and 12 rebounds in Boston’s Game 1 win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, comes out flat like he has so far in Game 2, he’s going to be the subject of criticism.
The five-time All-Star is certainly taking his lumps on social media.
“Jayson Tatum doesn’t deserve to sleepwalk to the NBA Finals like this,” one person said.
“Jayson Tatum getting carried to the Finals by his role players,” said another.
“Celtics fans are getting ready to ignore another great game from Brown just so they can try to tell us Tatum is elite,” a third person chimed in.
“People have to STOP with Tatum, yes he’s a real good player, but he’s far from a superstar,” a fourth person added.
“I know damn well Jayson Tatum does not have….. 8 points in the 3rd Q,” a fifth person said.
It is true, that with 3:44 remaining in the third quarter and the Celtics up 82-71, Tatum has only eight points on 4-of-11 shooting, though two of those baskets have come in the last couple of minutes.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown is pacing Boston with 31 points, and guards Derrick White and Jrue Holiday have chipped in 16 and 12 points respectively.
We’ll see if Tatum can pick it up and help the Celtics close this game out and take a 2-0 lead.