Jayson Tatum won’t hide from the truth: He hasn’t played well so far in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Boston Celtics forward acknowledged Thursday he must up his game in order to boost his team’s chances of winning its second-round NBA playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks. He told The Associated Press he’s not dwelling on his underwhelming performances in Games 1 and 2 and vowed to make a greater impact in Game 3.
“I watched film,” Tatum said, per the AP. “I acknowledge that I gotta be better overall. And I will be better. It’s a bad game. It happens. I don’t think too much of it. Just ready for Game 3.”
Tatum scored just nine points and converted just 24 percent of his shots in the first two games of the ongoing series against the Bucks. Those numbers contrast starkly to his 19.2 points per game and 50 percent field-goal percentage in the Celtics’ first-round sweep of the Indiana Pacers.
Undoubtedly, he’ll be raring to prove his first two outings in the series were mere blips when Game 3 tips off at 8 p.m. ET on Friday night at TD Garden.
