It's one thing to put the team above individual performance, but it's quite another for a superstar player to fully embrace his role as a facilitator on the NBA's biggest stage the day after an opposing coach suggested he wasn't even the best on his team.
But Jayson Tatum has done just that in two games of the 2024 NBA Finals and is a big reason why the Boston Celtics head to Texas with a 2-0 lead over the Dallas Mavericks.
Tatum didn't shoot the ball well in Game 2 at TD Garden on Sunday, finishing with 18 points on 6-of-22 field goals and 1-of-7 3-pointers. But the All-NBA First Team selection was the best passer on the court, finishing with 12 assists, tied for second-highest in his career, including a playoff career-high eight in the first half.
The Celtics' season-leading scorer was clearly the center of Dallas' attention defensively Sunday night, so he stepped up to assist teammates Jrue Holiday (team-high 26 points), Jaylen Brown (21 points) and Derrick White (18 points) in leading Boston to a 105-98 victory.
“Every time I took a couple of dribbles, they had three guys right there,” Tatum said after the game about the Mavs' defensive strategy. “They have a lot of shooters, a lot of guys that can spread the floor. They left Drew open, so I didn't have to do anything special, I just had to find the open guy.”
Tatum's passing was no exception in Game 2. Despite another quiet offensive game in Game 1, he recorded five assists (for 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting) and led all players in assists allowed (13.5) and assists created (20.0) through the two Finals games.
“What he's focused on and developed over the last two years is learning to embrace what defenses are giving him and impact the game in different ways,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Tatum after the game. “Especially with the type of team we have this year, he's been exposed to different coverages and different matchups that teams have to match up with him in.
“It's like a puzzle. He's doing a good job of learning how to solve puzzles and do different things.”
In the playoffs two years ago, the Celtics were 4-5 when Tatum shot under 40% from the field and 2-5 when he shot under 35% and lost twice to the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 Finals. In this season's playoffs, they are a perfect 6-0 when Tatum shot under 40% from the field.
That's partly down to Boston's bolstered supporting cast, led by Brown, Holiday, White and Kristaps Porzingis. But Tatum also deserves credit for trusting his teammates to pick up the slack rather than trying to force the offense. At one point late in the second quarter, for example, Tatum missed a great 3-pointer, setting up an even better opportunity for Holiday to make a 3-pointer from the corner.
“A big part of it is we've been here before and we didn't win,” Tatum said about becoming a more aggressive playmaker. “We're so close to what we're trying to accomplish. Is my ego or wanting to get all the points going to get in the way of that?”
“There will be times when I need to score, and obviously I need to shoot the ball better, but really, we've always said, 'I'll do whatever it takes,'” he said. “If I have the potential to get 16 assists every night, that's what puts the team in the best position to win, and that doesn't mean I'll be the leading scorer. But if that gives the team a chance to win, then I'd love to have me on the team.”
Boston may need Tatum to step up as a scorer when the series shifts to Dallas for Game 3, but he seems fully committed to setting up teammates and making the right basketball plays, even if his shooting struggles continue.
This may cost him a shot at series MVP, but it could very well mean he'll win a championship ring.
