The TD Garden was in shambles tonight after a Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics by ten points. And the 111-101 loss Shaquille O’Neal predicted before the game on Inside The NBA was not the only piece of bad news. Just when Boston fans thought things could not get any worse, their superstar Jayson Tatum held a rather concerning look in the post-game presser.
And upon asking if the finger wrap was a part of the fit or something else, Tatum revealed, “I jammed my sh*t the other day.” With that response, concerns have emerged about his availability for Saturday’s Game 3 in Miami.
Having scored 28 points in tonight’s loss, Tatum was the second-highest scorer on the Celtics squad, behind co-star Jaylen Brown. But his performance was not as efficient as he would have liked. Missing 50% of his shots from the field, Tatum did not perform at his best. And even his contribution to the team was far less than Game 1, where he had his first playoff career triple-double with 23 points, ten rebounds, and ten assists. But tonight, Tatum was only limited to eight rebounds and three assists. Maybe Tatum’s jammed finger was bothering him or Miami’s defense was just too good to penetrate?
Whatever the case, after losing Game 2 at home, the Celtics cannot afford to lose Tatum to an injury heading to Miami. And hopefully, he will push through and be available in Game 3 at his best.
Apart from shedding light on his jammed finger, Tatum also addressed the heartbreaking loss in Game 2. And not making any excuses, he appreciated Miami for bouncing back without Jimmy Butler and leveling the series, “They really shot the ball well tonight.” Displaying true Heat Culture, Tyler Herro and Co. fought amid adversity and shot lights out from the three-point line tonight. And they set a new Miami Heat playoff franchise record by making 23 shots from beyond the arc in the game.
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