How Tatum’s ‘fingerprints were everywhere’ Game 1 win vs. Mavs originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics didn’t need Jayson Tatum to increase the box score to beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals.
Tatum finished Thursday’s series opener with a modest 16 points on less-than-stellar 6-for-16 shooting. The five-time All-Star also had a game-high six turnovers in an offensive performance he would probably like to forget.
Still, he found a way to put his stamp on the Celtics’ 117-89 victory.
Tatum led all players with 11 rebounds and tied for a game-high five assists. He had the second-highest plus-minus (+19), behind only teammate Jrue Holiday (+20). Additionally, he played rock-solid defense to limit the Mavs’ secondary scorers.
On Fridays Early editionour Celtics insider Chris Forsberg sent a message to those holding on to Tatum’s lack of goals.
“Did you all see how every time he started driving, three black jerseys swarmed around him and he was forced to take the appropriate action? Something he has done consistently throughout these playoffs?” Forsberg asked. “I agree that the substitutions are maddening, especially for a team that has fallen prey to those in the finals in recent seasons, but I thought Jayson made the right move. And I thought he was aggressive early on, especially on the glass, which is exactly what it should be in this series.
“Did you hear (Mavericks big men Daniel) Gafford or (Dereck) Lively’s name called out a lot last night? Did they take a lob from Luka (Doncic) last night? You want to know why? Because Tatum denied them the ability to get to the We get so caught up in the scoring and the efficiency and certainly the turnovers, but I thought his fingerprints were all over this game and part of being a superstar isn’t just putting up the numbers. but also doing the things that the casual observer doesn’t see or understand. And in terms of potential assists for the defense, Tatum was a superstar last night.”
Fellow Sports Illustrated analyst Chris Mannix noted that while he would have liked to see Tatum be more aggressive at the rim, he was pleased with his overall performance.
“I know we all want to see Jayson Tatum go out for 25, 30, 35 points,” he said. “But when you have guys on your team that are cooking – and (Kristaps) Porzingis was cooking in that first half, Jaylen Brown got it going in that second half – you don’t want to take four shots. It’s OK to be a decoy for a team like this when the other guys are making shots, Derrick White, we haven’t even talked about him yet, he was making shots in the first half of that game.
“So overall I didn’t have any issues with the way Jayson Tatum played. If he could have just cleaned up the turnovers and played with a little more power at the rim, I think he would have had an excellent game.”
Tatum admitted he had experienced some nerves leading up to Thursday night’s game. Now that the Game 1 jitters are out of the way, we can expect an offensive performance from the first team when the series resumes Sunday night at TD Garden.
You can watch the full Early Edition segment below or on YouTube:
