“What the hell are we doing?” - Jay Williams says 3-time All-Star needs to be better after his struggles with turnovers
Jay Williams believes it is up to Jayson Tatum to turn things around for the Boston Celtics for the remainder of the 2022 NBA playoffs Eastern Conference final.
The Miami Heat utterly outplayed the Celtics in Game 1, especially in the third quarter. The Heat overturned an eight-point halftime deficit and outscored Boston 39-14 in the period.
While the entire team broke down during the third quarter, Tatum's mishaps were the most highlighted and had the most effect. He turned the ball over a career-high six times in the third quarter alone.
Granted, the Heat, especially Jimmy Butler, deserve credit for their outstanding display on both ends of the floor. But there's no telling how the game would have ended if Tatum had a good game. He had 21 points in the first half and helped the Celtics to a first-half lead.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Keyshawn, JWill & Max show, Jay Williams talked about the need for Tatum to be a lot better for the Celtics to have a chance in this series.
"I give Jimmy Butler and Miami all the credit in the world. But if you're Boston and you're watching tape of this game in the third quarter you're like, 'What the hell are we doing?' Jayson Tatum had four turnovers in the third."
He added:
"Like he sees Jimmy Butler on the weak side, he's just being loose with the ball. So, he's gonna have 29 points and people will say he shot lights out but he didn't play well. He needs to be tighter with the ball, their team needs to be tighter."
Jay Williams went on to state:
"Jayson Tatum needs to be better. Now, we can sit up here and talk about Marcus Smart guarding Jimmy Butler. We can talk about Al Horford not being on the court and what that allows Bam (Adebayo) to do defensively. But if Jayson Tatum is better, they don't go with this run in the third quarter."
Tatum finished the game with 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals. But most of the good things he did came in the first half of the game. The three-time All-Star also struggled shooting the ball from range, knocking down only two three-pointers in nine attempts.
Jay Williams has had high praise for Jayson Tatum since his college days
Not many follow players in college, but Jay Williams watched Tatum during his time at Duke and believes the youngster will be included in MVP conversations.
On the Heavy on Lakers with Scoop B podcast, JWill said:
"Jabari Parker was doing his thing in the league around that time with Milwaukee. I watched [Tatum] give [Parker] the business for an hour straight. I’m not talking about college moves. I’m talking about the same moves he’s doing right now, he was doing as a 17-year-old. I remember walking away [thinking] this dude is special."
He added:
"The way he was playing before the pandemic, the way he’s playing right now, he’s going to be in MVP conversation in years to come. He may be one of the best players we will ever have that has donned a Duke uniform."
Williams even went on to compare Tatum to Grant Hill:
"His game reminds me, it’s not as athletic, but the skillset reminds me of Grant Hill. If Grant Hill had never got hurt, imagine what Grant Hill would have been."
Jay Williams believes in Tatum's ability, which is why he is being critical of him. A good game for Tatum will more often than not translate to a good game for the Celtics.
There is still a lot of basketball to play in the ECF, and the Celtics have shown that they can pull off a comeback. They were down 3-2 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference semifinals but won the next two games to win the series.