Jayson Tatum wouldn't call Miami Heat's triumph over the Bucks an 'upset'
Jayson Tatum's Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat have had some history in the past few seasons. Boston prevailed in seven games in the Eastern Conference finals last season, while Miami won in six games in the 2020 ECF.
There's mutual respect from both teams as each has pushed the other to the limits in tightly-contested, high-stakes showdowns.
After a morning shootaround in preparation for Game 6 in Atlanta on Thursday, Jayson Tatum gave his thoughts on the Heat's incredible 4-1 first-round win over the team with the NBA's best record, the Milwaukee Bucks. Miami had the top record in the East last season, but had to get through the play-in tournament to win the No. 8 seed this season.
"I wouldn’t necessarily call it an upset," Tatum said. "Miami is a really good team. Really great coach. Obviously, they’ve got some great players. And they just made plays. I guess people weren’t expecting them to win, but I wouldn’t call it, like, an upset."
Tatum's response was no shot against the Milwaukee Bucks. He just saw the matchup they had against the Heat as a tough one as he knows what kind of team Miami turns into once the postseason arrives.
His teammate, Marcus Smart, also had a similar response.
"I wasn’t too surprised," Smart said. "The Heat is a dangerous team. We all know the Heat play different in the playoffs, and they played the Bucks really well. I’m not as surprised as probably others, but I am surprised they went down the way that they went down."
Jayson Tatum against the Miami Heat in the NBA playoffs
Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics' path to the NBA Finals last year was met with one of the most challenging matchups they've experienced in all their seasons together.
The top-seeded Miami Heat and second-seeded Boston Celtics pushed each other to seven games in a constant back-and-forth. Although the Heat had home-court advantage, Boston won 100-96 in Game 7. The Celtics went 3-1 in Miami, while Miami went 2-1 in Boston, including a Game 6 win.
Jayson Tatum averaged 25.0 points on 46.2% shooting, including 35.3% from 3-point range, 8.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists in that series.
For Tatum and the Celtics, that ECF matchup exacted revenge as they experienced being sent home by the Miami Heat during the 2020 Eastern finals. The Celtics were the third seed and the Heat were the fifth seed in the bubble.
Tatum's Celtics ended up in a 1-3 hole against the Heat as the matchup highlighted the roster's weaknesses at point guard and bench depth. The team had to rely heavily on Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Tatum.
The Celtics' All-Star averaged 26.5 ppg on 41.3% shooting, including 30.8% from 3-point range, 9.8 rpg and 6.3 apg.