The Boston Celtics secured a big Game 1 victory Thursday night, starting their NBA Finals series off with a 1-0 lead. While the game was defined by performances from Boston's role players, there was no way to ignore a poor shooting night from Jayson Tatum. Despite that, the team found ways to appreciate the effort put forth by their superstar.
"I've talked to (Tatum) at length about impacting the game, even when he's not having his best offensive night," Celtics head coach Ime Udoka told media after the game. "And so, he did that tonight. You know, obviously going 3-for-17 is usually not going to happen, but what he did well, and did early, was getting others involved."
Tatum was certainly a force offensively despite the poor shooting performance, as he had a game high 13 assists, passing out of Warriors blitzes and finding the open man consistently throughout the night.
"I mean, he's an unbelievable playmaker," Celtics guard Payton Pritchard told reporters in his postgame media session. "Obviously we know he can score at the highest of levels, but when you can score and pass like he is -- I think he ended up with like 13 assists -- it's a game changer."
The love for Tatum's willingness to contribute as a playmaker was felt from all over, as Pritchard was joined by multiple teammates in highlighting the effort by Tatum.
"It's really such a challenge for guys like him, you know, those top players in the league," Al Horford said postgame. "... They're expected to score, to play make, to defend, you know, all those things and Jason does all those things."
Tatum seemed to take the poor shooting night in stride, admitting he'd take three more if it meant an NBA Finals victory for Boston.
"I just tried to impact the game other ways," Tatum told reporters. "You know, we in the championship, we in the finals. You know, all I was worried about was trying to get a win, and we did. And that's all that matters at this point. So, you know, I don't expect to shoot that bad again, but if it means we keep winning I'll take it."
Boston will look to keep winning as they take on Golden State in Game 2 on Sunday from Chase Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
