Knicks' 2-0 lead isn't all on Jayson Tatum's shoulders
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 07: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics is defended by OG Anunoby #8 of the New York Knicks in the final seconds of the fourth quarter in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs at TD Garden on May 07, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Images/Maddie Meyer
Oh, how they have turned on Jayson Tatum in Boston.
Suddenly, the six-time All-Star is being blamed the most for the Celtics’ stunning 0-2 hole that no one except the most optimistic Knicks fan would have predicted a week ago.
Tatum, who averaged 33.5 points against the Knicks in the regular season, has totaled 36 points and shot 12-for-42 with eight turnovers in the two playoff losses against the Knicks. What bothers Celtics fans the most, however, is how Tatum failed to rise to the occasion when the team needed him most at the end of the Knicks’ 91-90 Game 2 victory Wednesday.
In a video clip that has seen more traffic in the past 24 hours than the Midtown Tunnel and I-93 Southbound combined, Tatum has the ball in the closing seconds with a chance to win the game.
On the Celtics’ previous play, Tatum had gone coast to coast for a dunk. This time, as Tatum explained to reporters Thursday, he “just kinda made the wrong read, went into a crowded area” and it all fell apart with Mikal Bridges ripping away his desperation pass to Jaylen Brown in the final seconds.
“I need to do better,” Tatum said.
He does. But somehow, it seems just too easy to place all the blame for the defending champions’ struggles on Tatum. Yes, he has been awful in the fourth quarter of both games, but a big part of that awful can be credited to the Knicks’ defense.
KNICKS VS. CELTICS
The Knicks beat the Celtics in the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinal series, both in Boston. Here's how teams who lost the first two home games in a seven-game series have performed:
Win the series: 5-30
Win the series if you win Game 3: 5-10
Win the series if you win Game 3 and 4: 5-3
Win the series if you win Game 3 and lose Game 4: 0-7
Win the series if you lose Game 3 and win Game 4: 0-6
This series is exactly the reason that the Knicks re-signed OG Anunoby this past summer and traded those five draft picks for Bridges. The Knicks needed tough, smart defenders to deal with the Celtics’ wings. And those smarts were on full display on that final play.
When Tatum went the length of the court on the previous possession, Al Horford opened things up by setting a pick near midcourt on Anunoby. This time, Anunoby backed up much farther so Horford couldn’t screen him the same way. Tatum, who could not shake Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson, was forced left and then was forced into a desperation pass that was intercepted.
“Just figured they would do it again, just adjusted,” Anunoby said of the defensive moves he made on the final play.
Tatum also is not the only one who has come up short in a series in which the Knicks have dug themselves out of 20-point holes in both wins.
Coach Joe Mazzulla had a timeout to use but decided just to go freelance again with Tatum at the end of the game. Mazzulla said he did not want to give the Knicks a timeout to take out Jalen Brunson for a tougher defender.
Yet like many things about this Celtics team, there seems to be a bit of arrogance in that decision, an inability to adjust to the situation and just go with what has worked for the team in the past.
This brings us to Boston’s three-point shooting. We’ve all been told for the past decade or so that basketball comes down to a math formula. A three-pointer is worth more than a two-pointer. It’s a matter of analytics. The team that can make the most threes is usually the one that wins.
Boston took more threes and made more threes than any team in league history this season, averaging 48 attempts per game. Boston is still firing up at the same rate in this series, attempting 60 in the first game and 40 in the second.
In the regular season, the Celtics made 36.8% of their threes. But in both playoff games against the Knicks, they shot 25%. That included an NBA playoff record 45 missed threes in the opener. When the threes aren’t falling, there has to be a Plan B. Maybe the Celtics tried that by shooting 20 fewer threes in Game 2. But the plan didn’t work well enough to keep the Knicks from coming back from a 20-point deficit once again.
“Once we got it inside 10, we always have the belief we can win,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Of course, there’s a good reason for that. The Knicks had to fight and fight hard to get to the Celtics. Only one of the Knicks’ six first-round games against Detroit was decided by more than six points. The last four were decided by 2, 1, 3 and 3 points. The Celtics? Their only close game against Orlando was the Magic’s 95-93 win. The Celtics’ four wins were by an average margin of 16.5 points
The problem with the Celtics in this series is not just Tatum. It’s a lack of grittiness bordering on arrogance that comes from winning easily. Winning is not always about analytics and execution. Sometimes it’s just believing that you can get yourself out of a tough jam.
Boston, down 0-2, is in a tough jam. We’ll find out what happens.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
