Tatum: 'I need to be better' vs. Knicks
Looking to avoid a historically insurmountable 3-0 series deficit, Jayson Tatum acknowledged his shooting struggles against the New York Knicks as the Boston Celtics prepare for Saturday's Game 3.
"I take full ownership of the way that I've played in this series and can't sugarcoat anything," Tatum told reporters Thursday, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. "I need to be better, and I expect to be a lot better."
Tatum was efficient in the Celtics' first-round series against the Orlando Magic, recording shooting splits of 44.7/36.4/90.2 across five games. But through the opening two contests - both at TD Garden - versus the Knicks, he's shot just 28.6% from the floor (12-of-42) and 25% from three (5-of-20).
Tatum isn't the only Celtics player having issues, though. Boston posted a 35.1 shooting percentage in Monday's series opener, its lowest mark in any regular season or playoff game this campaign.
Game 2 offered only a slight improvement, with the Celtics shooting 36.2% and making the same number of shots (34) on three fewer attempts (94) than in Game 1 (97). Boston went 0-4 during the regular season when registering 34 or fewer field goals in a contest.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla said he believes Tatum will find his rhythm again in the series after the six-time All-Star shot 45.2% from the field and 34.3% from three in the regular season. However, with the Celtics blowing 20-point leads in both games, Mazzulla stressed that Tatum isn't solely to blame for the team's current predicament.
"It's a credit to (Tatum), I don't think that I appreciate the fact that he would (take responsibility), but I think it's on everybody," Mazzulla said.
"We all could be better. I could be better. The things that I can help our team execute on our entire team can be better. And yeah, he can too. So, just says who he is taking responsibility for that, and I expect him to be better."
Teams that lose the first two contests of a seven-game series at home have gone on to advance in just four of 28 prior instances, according to Basketball Reference.
Game 3 tips off Saturday in New York at 3:30 p.m. ET.