Did Jayson Tatum Redeem Himself in Game 6?

DID JAySON TATUM REDEEM HIMSELF IN GAME 6 – The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers play a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday. The best thing in all of sports is a Game 7, and this battle should be a nail-biter from start to finish. 

Celtics star, Jayson Tatum, has had a roller coaster ride of a series. The Celtics lost Game 1 only to win the next two and go up 2-1. Then, the 76ers won the next two and Boston did what they had to do in Game 6. 

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The Fourth Quarter

When you examine Tatum’s line in Game 6, it’s hard to get excited about it. He finished with 19 points on 5-12 from the field with a 4-11 mark from three-point land. However, Tatum was the star of the show in the fourth quarter. 

With the season on the line, he exploded with 16 points in the fourth quarter, including all four three-pointers. Until that point, Tatum was all set to become the scapegoat for an early Celtics playoff elimination just a year after they lost in the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors. 

Instead, Tatum is the hero, and the Celtics live to fight another day. 

Either way, it’s hard to peg Tatum as the scapegoat, even if the Celtics lost Game 6 or lose Game 7. With the exception of his unbelievably-awful Game 2 performance (he went 1-7 with seven points), he has been terrific. Here’s a quick rundown of the series: 

• Game 1: 39 points, 11 rebounds 
• Game 2: 7 points, 7 rebounds 
• Game 3: 27 points, 10 rebounds 
• Game 4: 24 points, 18 rebounds 
• Game 5: 36 points, 10 rebounds
• Game 6: 19 points, 9 rebounds 

If you erase Game 2 from the memory bank, he’s averaging 29 PPG with 11.6 boards. That’s impressive. 

Was Tatum off for the first 36 minutes of Game 6? Yes, but he did his best Kobe Bryant impression with everything on the line. 

A Preview Of Game 7 

The series goes back to Boston, which is the worst-case scenario for Philadelphia after they choked Game 6. Furthermore, Jayson Tatum does his thing in Game 7. He has a 4-1 record in Game 7s, averaging 24.4 PPG with 8.2 rebounds in the do-or-die game. 

Jayson Tatum Career Game 7 Stats:

— 24.4 PPG
— 8.2 RPG
— 5.4 APG
— 1.0 BPG
— 45/47/83
— 4-1 record (3rd best record among active NBA players)

He has also shot 13/24 (54.2%) from 3 in his last 3 Game 7s combined. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/oYn85JEVdA

— TatumMuse (@TatumMuse) May 12, 2023

The Celtics played two Game 7s in last year’s playoffs, one against the Miami Heat and the other against the Milwaukee Bucks. Tatum combined for 49 points with 14 rebounds and 16 assists across those games en route to an Eastern Conference title. 

The only Game 7 Jayson Tatum has lost in his career came in 2018 against the Cleveland Cavaliers and, you guessed it, LeBron James. Still, Tatum had 24 points on a 9-17 clip, so he isn’t afraid of the big moments. 

Can he do it again? With home-court advantage, it’s more than likely, and the 76ers might face a long offseason full of question marks if they fail to make the Eastern Conference Finals once again. Sunday can’t come soon enough, and Jayson Tatum is the reason why the Celtics are fighting another day.