DALLAS — There have been two versions of Jayson Tatum in the NBA Finals. Version One is shooting a dismal 12 for 38 from the field, just 31.6%, the worst percentage by far of any starter in the series between his Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks.
Version Two is second in the finals in total rebounds, leads the series in assists and, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, is favored to win the NBA Finals MVP award. Add them up, and the Celtics seem satisfied what they’re seeing from Tatum, as usual. The Celtics have a 2-0 lead in the finals going into Game 3 on Wednesday night in Dallas, meaning the NBA’s best team all season is halfway to an 18th championship.
“I understand that I do need to be more efficient,” Tatum said Tuesday. “I do need to shoot the ball better. I would not disagree with anybody on that.
But I’m not letting it bother me. I’m still trying to find ways to impact the game and dominate the game in other areas.” Getting too deep into Tatum’s numbers in this series — or even when adding the 2022 NBA Finals to the totals — isn’t a great idea, simply because of the sample size.
He has been in a total of eight finals games. It’s not enough to draw conclusions. That said, while the shooting is almost shockingly bad — no player in the last 60 years, with as many shot attempts as Tatum has all-time in NBA Finals play, has shot worse than his .
354 clip — he is on pace to do something historic. If his averages of 17 points, 10 rebounds and 8.5.
