Jayson Tatum: “I got all the faith in the world in Jaylen Brown”
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals series between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks didn’t pan out the way Cs fans would have liked, with both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown struggling from the field.
Tatum shot just 33% from the field (6/18 overall) while Brown shot even worse than that (4/13 overall), though he did posterize Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first quarter. Tatum was the only Celtics scorer to top 20 points, while Brown wound up with just 12 himself. Boston couldn’t overcome their offensive futility, scoring just 89 points in the series-opening loss.
The performance fueled those in the media that obsess over the idea of breaking up the duo, but did it shake the confidence of the two Celtics stars?
Well, Jayson Tatum certainly isn’t allowing one bad outing to derail what has been a wildly impressive run here in 2022:
Jayson Tatum on Jaylen Brown's struggles today: "I mean, shit, we all had a rough night. Nobody should hang their heads down. We in this together, right? All that matters is if you win or lose. I got all the faith in the world in JB."
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) May 1, 2022
That said, Tatum acknowledged some of the specific shortcomings the entire Celtics squad suffered from:
Jayson Tatum said the Celtics need to play with more poise. He thought they were too careless. He said they all need to be stronger with the ball, more decisive with their reads.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) May 1, 2022
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown must play better to beat the Bucks
Even without Khris Middleton, this Milwaukee team is a threat offensively. Defensively, they take pride in stopping the opposition, and Boston found that out the hard way in the opening game of the series.
Game 1 has come and gone, and while it wasn’t ideal, it’s far from the end of the Celtics’ 2021-22 season. If Brown’s performance doesn’t improve, though…
Well, let’s cross that bridge if we have to.