Is Jayson Tatum playing tonight against the Heat? Latest injury update on the Celtics' star ahead of matchup (17th May 2023)
Jayson Tatum is fresh off a historic 51-point performance against the Philadelphia 76ers to propel his Boston Celtics past the second round in the playoffs. With the Eastern Conference finals set to begin tonight, Tatum and the Celtics are matched-up with an old rival, the Miami Heat, who are looking to redeem themselves after losing to Boston in 7 games in last year's postseason.
For Game 1 in Boston's TD Garden, Jayson Tatum is available to play and suit up with the goal of protecting home-court advantage for the first two games of the series before heading to Miami for games 3 and 4.
This meeting between the Celtics and the Heat marks the third time these two ball clubs have matched-up against one another in the Conference finals round, which started during the 2020 bubble playoffs.
Much of the roster and coaching staff have changed for both teams but the core players have remained intact throughout the years.
Jayson Tatum's 51-piece masterclass in Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers
Jayson Tatum helped the Boston Celtics in forcing a Game 7 against the 76ers after starting 1-13 for three points in the first three-quarters of Game 6. With his teammates being able to keep them in the game for much of the contest, Tatum closed the deal by scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter, outscoring the entire 76ers team as he made 4-5 clutch 3-pointers.
After one of the best turnarounds seen in NBA history for an All-Star that started poorly, Jayson Tatum continued where he left off from Game 6. He finally send the 76ers packing in the playoffs as his 51-point explosion, coupled with the Celtics' suffocating defense diminished any hopes for the visiting team.
It was a remarkable performance that received flowers from his teammates as Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown spoke to the media following the game.
"It’s a movie,” Smart said. “It’s a big movie. Being able to just sit back, eat your popcorn and watch. Sometimes we do get in that mode where we forget that we’re on the court playing with him and you’ve gotta continue to play."
"Everybody should go buy the new JTs that he just dropped," Brown said."J.T. got it going. Get out of that man’s way. He just got it rolling and there was nothing they could do to stop him. They tried to double-team him and it just gave open looks to other guys. When J.T. is playing like that, we’re going to be extremely hard to beat."
Jayson Tatum's 51-point outing made history as he eclipses Steph Curry's recent 50-ball explosion against the Sacramento Kings for the most number of points scored in Game 7 of the NBA history