Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics have hit a rare stretch of adversity after dropping back-to-back road contests to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Denver Nuggets.
On both nights, Tatum had a chance to make the go-ahead shot in the final minutes of the loss. While he has certainly had an MVP-caliber season, the recent misses in crunch time have brought his performances into question.
FS1’s Jason McIntyre believes that pushback based on two games is unwarranted and defended Tatum on Friday after the most recent loss.
“I’m here to remind you he is a clutch basketball player,” McIntyre said on “The Herd” on Friday. “… You can tell me all you want about a clutch NBA game in March. I’ll tell you about Game 7 last year with 51 points from Jayson Tatum against Joel Embiid, who was the MVP of the league.”
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McIntyre cited playoff performances such as Tatum’s 46-point masterpiece against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2022 Eastern Conference semifinals and 51 points against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals. McIntyre believes those performances for the Celtics speak higher volumes about Tatum’s clutch ability than two missed chances in the regular season.
“Don’t tell me this ‘Jayson Tatum isn’t clutch’ nonsense,” McIntyre added. “He had a rough week in the fourth quarter. Whoop-dee-doo. It’s March. Come back and check with me in June when the Celtics are in The Finals.”
Tatum and the Celtics will look to prevent a third straight loss when they visit the Phoenix Suns on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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Featured image via Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports Images
