Jayson Tatum

Curry torched Boston's drop coverage, and Tatum yet again failed to produce against Golden State.

Jayson Tatum had a rare off-night as he scored 18 points on 6-for-21 shooting against the Warriors.

It’s frustrating to lose, Tatum said, but there are still plenty of games left in the season to flip the page. We didn’t really do that in the playoffs last year but we did that tonight. [smashing the Suns in a laugher of a game](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/12/monty-williams-benches-suns-starters-vs-celtics-in-third-quarter-amid-boston-blowout-win.html). But as Jaylen Brown pointed out, it wasn’t a similar script to the Finals. [The Warriors made a statement instead as they beat the Celtics 123-107](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/12/four-takeaways-as-celtics-lose-to-warriors-123-107-in-nba-finals-rematch-as-old-demons-resurface.html) on Saturday at Chase Center. The Warriors floundered most of the season, coming in with a .500 record.

Jayson Tatum is on the receiving end of several criticisms after his poor play for the Celtics against the Warriors on Saturday.

Hopefully, the star forward plays a different game by that time. [highlighted](https://twitter.com/bostonsportsinf/status/1601791656474595328) how Jayson Tatum has basically vanished during their recent games against the Warriors. Of course a ton of credit should be given to the Dubs’ defense. [December 11, 2022] sending a strong message to them and the rest of the NBA. Naturally after the contest, critics couldn’t help but mock Tatum for his performance.

Jayson Tatum struggled again versus the Warriors, and Kendrick Perkins didn't shy away from giving a candid assessment of the Celtics star's performance in ...

But there's no question Tatum needs to find ways to be more impactful at both ends of the floor against the Warriors. Tatum averaged just 21.5 points per game versus the Warriors in the NBA Finals last season. "You know what the narrative is about to be right now?

The Boston Celtics are the best team in the NBA this season. Unquestionably. They have the best record at 21-5, they have the best net rating at +9.2 (by a ...

However, you get a sense early in the season of who most of the serious contenders are and what the pecking order looks like. Part of that mission is a little revenge on Saturday night, taking on the team that beat them in the Finals last season, the Warriors. They have the best record at 21-5, they have the best net rating at +9.2 (by a healthy 2.2 margin), they have

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was accountable after his off night against the Golden State Warriors, but he isn't worried about how the NBA Finals ...

Joe Mazzulla put the blame on himself and the Celtics' coaching staff for Jayson Tatum having yet another rough offensive night against the Warriors.

“I thought he was working to screen, working to create separation. “I thought he was patient, I thought he tried to make the right play,” Mazzulla said. … It’s not going to our dictate our season. “I think tonight was probably more meaningful to you guys than it was to us,” he said. “We have to be better. Despite the Warriors playing without Andrew Wiggins due to injury, they still made life very tough on Tatum defensively, piling up plenty of bodies in the paint for him to go through on his drives.

The Celtics fell to the Warriors 123-117 on Saturday evening in a disappointing Finals rematch, dropping to 21-6 this season.

The Celtics wouldn’t have assuaged the pain of losing the Finals with a win in December. We never want to lose, and we’ve been playing well, and to lose this one — especially the way we played — was tough. A Warriors player fired up a shot after the whistle that ricocheted back to Williams. The Warriors had just taken a 17-point lead, and they called timeout to sub out their starters. As a result, the Warriors rebounded 25 percent of their misses and had The Warriors also outscored the Celtics 19-11 in transition, and punished them off live rebounds in particular. The Warriors couldn’t do much to contain Brown in the mid-range or around the rim, but his mid-range attack is a complement to the Celtics’ 3-point shooting, which failed them (12-for-40, 30 percent). The Celtics’ regular rotation scored just two more points the rest of the way, as the Warriors rattled off a 14-2 run. He hit his first 3-pointer with two minutes left in the first quarter when the Celtics lost him in transition. He missed seven 3-pointers and even a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter that could have cut the lead to six for one final push with 5:02 remaining. Tatum’s first play was a harbinger — a nice cut to the rim, which nearly freed him for an easy layup. Instead, the Celtics’ MVP candidate submitted a sandpaper-rough performance, perhaps his worst of the season.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was accountable after his off night against the Golden State Warriors, but he isn't worried about how the NBA Finals ...

While Tatum was accountable for his off night, he isn't about to lose sleep over the performance. the Clippers is set for 10:30 p.m. I think I just -- maybe my touch was off, but just a lot of easy ones I missed made it a little tough tonight." Tip-off for the late-night showdown vs. "I missed a lot of layups. “I think tonight was probably more meaningful to you guys (the media) than it was to us," he said.

In Boston's first meeting with Golden State since the NBA Finals, the MVP candidate fell flat, resurrecting some of the doubts that plagued his performance ...

Tatum is smart to make the first point, but he should meditate on the second. The media and fans tend to overreact to high-profile games that don’t actually decide a team’s fate, and the Celtics never looked truly comfortable during their most anticipated game of the season. Boston also committed 10 turnovers and struggled to get back in transition as Golden State dictated the tempo thanks to a big night from Thompson, who poured in a game-high 34 points and shadowed Tatum defensively. To win the title, though, Boston probably will need to get past the Milwaukee Bucks, who were without all-star forward Khris Middleton in last year’s playoffs. The two superstars presented starkly different personalities as the Warriors built a 20-point lead: Calm Curry savored having nothing left to prove thanks to his four championship rings, but timid Tatum fumbled over how to climb the last few rungs on the ladder to true greatness. I’ve got to be better to help the team win. To close the first quarter, Curry … They just did a good job of keeping us in front of them, slowing us down. Two quick fouls forced him to the bench midway through the first quarter, and he eventually finished with 18 points on 6-for-21 shooting. Without Al Horford, who is in the NBA’s Boston was outscored by 13 points in his 40 minutes, he was held scoreless in the fourth quarter, and he missed a pair of crucial free throws with five minutes remaining that stunted a rally attempt. To make matters worse for the defending champions, Andrew Wiggins, their best perimeter defender, wouldn’t be able to hound Tatum because he was sidelined with an adductor injury.

Well, that wasn't the performance that the Boston Celtics wanted against the Golden State Warriors. The two teams faced off this Saturday night in a rematch ...

Tatum struggled for the entire contest, as the same issues that plagued him in the Finals came back to haunt him. Unfortunately, [Jayson Tatum](/nba/players/a6dc0929/jayson-tatum)’s cold streak against the Dubs continued last night, as he struggled to find his groove against the defending champions. [Boston Celtics](/nba/boston-celtics) wanted against the Golden State Warriors.