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The Boston Celtics need to reclaim control of their first-round series.
They were 14.5-point favorites ahead of Game 2, yet they wound up losing by double-digits.
To make things even worse, they lost to a severely undermanned Miami Heat team missing two of their best scorers: Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier.
Now, the series heads to Kaseya Center for Game 3, and history says there aren’t many reasons to be encouraged about this game.
As shown by StatMuse on Twitter, Jayson Tatum has struggled mightily against the Heat in Game 3s, averaging just 12.0 points per game on 28.1% from the floor, 14.3% from beyond the arc, and a 35.1% true shooting percentage.
Tatum last two Game 3s vs the Heat:
12.0 PPG28.1 FG%14.3 3P%35.1 TS%
How many for Tatum tonight? https://t.co/OXYNRoAsLn
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 27, 2024
Needless to say, having your best player shooting that poorly from the floor won’t do much to help your chances to win, and that has been a worrisome trend for Joe Mazzulla’s squad in the playoffs.
This time, however, he has the best supporting cast he’s ever had in his career to date.
The Celtics are the odds-on favorites to make it to the NBA Finals and win the championship, but they still need to get the monkey off their backs.
Tatum, in particular, has been heavily criticized for not showing up when it matters the most, and you cannot afford to be out of focus when you play a scrappy and gritty team like Erik Spoelstra’s.
He has a prime opportunity to improve his Game 3 numbers vs. their toughest rivals, but he’ll have to do so in a hostile environment in South Beach.
The post Stats Show A Worrisome Trend For Jayson Tatum Against Heat appeared first on The Cold Wire.
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