Colin Cowherd Joins Media Downplaying Celtics’ Potential In Loss

Jayson Tatum hinted at the national overreaction that seems to occur in the rare times that the Boston Celtics lose a game this season.

It certainly became the case in the early days of the Celtics' second-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. That only became amplified after the Cavaliers rolled the Celtics in Game 2 when Boston failed to get stops defensively and convert from deep as an offense in continued home struggles.

''The Celtics have been the best team in the NBA record-wise for three years," Cowherd shared on "The Herd" on Friday. "They regularly, historically bizarre, get throttled at home. Regular season and playoffs. … They're pretty good. Maybe they're very good. They're not great."

Cowherd continued: "Everybody keeps waiting for great. They're not great. They're not special. They're not elite. This happens to very good teams. Boston is very good."

Cowherd especially called for a higher level of production from Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, floating the idea that the 26-year-old possesses a "role player's mentality" despite his star status around the NBA. The Celtics will eventually need more from Tatum, though it's nowhere near time to push the panic button in Boston.

The Celtics have the chance to reset the national narrative moving forward as the series shifts to Cleveland.