After a 17-point reversal over the Nets, the Celtics led 2-0 on aggregate. In this game, Celtic core Tatum "only" scored 19 points, but on the defensive end, his performance was quite amazing.
According to official NBA data, in the second game of the series, Tatum, as the main defender of Durant, was paired with Durant for 10 minutes and 33 seconds.
In these 10 and a half minutes, Durant made four more turnovers on 0-of-7 shooting under Tatum's defense, scoring four points on just free throws.
Being able to defend Durant so badly, Tatum's performance is evident. You know, this is a 10-and-a-half-minute alignment, the alignment time is long enough, and Durant's shots are enough, which can also fully reflect how good Tatum's restriction effect on Durant is.
Tatum, in turn, made 1-of-3 shooting under Durant's defense and didn't feel too good. But given that Tatum's ability is obviously inferior to Durant in the eyes of the outside world, for this reason, Tatum's overall feel of 5 of 16 shots in this battle is not good, Durant's defense against him is not too telling, after all, Durant only defended Tatum for 1 minute and 17 seconds, and only 3 shots, the sample is too small.
In fact, Tatum's performance in singles is still very good. Currently, Tatum averages eight points per singles in the playoffs and shoots 62.5 percent from the field, averaging only Harden in the playoffs and tied for second in the playoffs with Irving, DeRozan and Mitchell, but his shooting percentage is much higher than the other three.
With this performance, Tatum and Celtic also look competitive.
After losing to the Celtics, Nets guard Irving said: "They have the strength to compete for the title, and the window of these people has been opened." ”
Of course, the Celtics still have a lot of hurdles to overcome from the title race. In addition to eliminating the Nets in the first round, they also have to face more opponents. But if they can eliminate the Nets in the first round, I believe that this experience will make the Celtics regain confidence, and the team that has reached the Eastern Conference Finals many times in the past during the James Cavaliers era will now attack the championship again.