With all the attention directed to Jayson Tatum, who fell off when it mattered the most in their marquee Finals rematch against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, coach Joe Mazzulla made a step up to defend the Boston Celtics superstar.
While Tatum’s individual woes played a major part in their weekend defeat, Mazzulla shouldered the responsibility for why the Cs were blasted on the 123- 107 statement game.
“He doesn’t have to do anything better,” Mazzulla said of Tatum, per MassLive’s Brian Robb. “We have to be better. The staff has to be better, I have to be better, we have to put him in better spots in certain moments of the game, feel the game, and get him to a spot where he can make a play for our team.”
Throughout the night in San Francisco, Tatum struggled drastically, churning 18 markers in an inconsistent 6-for-21 shooting in 40 minutes played.
Without Andrew Wiggins, the All-Star forward was expected to feast in his usual ways to start this season, but he failed to capitalize on this key absence. The Dubs deploying Jonathan Kumings to play lockdown defense also played a significant role in his cold display.
Tatum addressed the media and noted that they will bounce back with all the buzz created as they took the difficult loss as the league’s current regular season best.
“I think tonight was probably more meaningful to you guys than it was to us,” Tatum said. “It’s one game. We want to win every game we play. It’s tough. You never want to lose. We’ve been playing well. … It’s not going to our dictate our season. It’s all about how we respond.”
Both the Celtics and the Warriors will meet again in Boston on Jan. 19 for another delightful season competition.
