Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum dismissed the narrative that his side is a ‘super team’ following Thursday’s stunning blowout loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2.
As the odds-on championship favorites, Boston are the most deeply scrutinised team in the NBA and with such an immense level of talent on the roster, losses can create a wild media frenzy.
Without doubt, the Celtics have the strongest rotation of players in the league – headed by yearly MVP candidate Tatum alongside his All-NBA teammate Jaylen Brown, as well as former All-Stars Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford.
Additionally, Derrick White was arguably hard done by to miss out on a spot in the All-Star game earlier this year – and this level of depth carries the unrealistic expectation that Boston should dominate every time they step out onto the floor (which they have done for most of the season).
Even the greatest sides over the years have endured some embarrassing defeats and Thursday’s Game 2 was exactly that for the 17-time NBA champions, who now find themselves under serious pressure to respond in Game 3 on Saturday.
When speaking to reporters after the game, Tatum fought back against the suggestion that the Celtics are a super team by arguing that his side haven’t been recognised as one in the awards ballots.
“I mean, that’s the narrative that you might see on TV. The idea that we have a super team – it’s twofold, right? We didn’t have the Coach of the Year, we didn’t have the MVP, we only had two All-Stars. You say we’re a super team but we didn’t get awarded like we are.
“We know we got a good team. We’re not perfect. We play the right way more often than not. And we know we’ve got to be better.”
“We didn’t have MVP, we only had two All-Stars… You say we’re a super team, but we didn’t get rewarded like we are”
Jayson Tatum responds to concerns with the Celtics after their Game 2 loss. He says the Celtics aren’t perfect, but he’s confident they’ll respond pic.twitter.com/Ld57FU0WVc
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 10, 2024
Porzingis remains on the sidelines with a calf strain suffered in Game 4 against Miami and Boston are working under the expectation that he will not be available to face Cleveland – instead focusing on a potential return in the Eastern Conference finals.
Luckily for Boston, it’s a best of seven series and they have plenty of time to right their wrongs – just as they did in the previous round against the Miami Heat, where they dropped Game 2 and closed out with three consecutive wins.
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