NEW YORK — Jayson Tatum spoke calmly as he addressed reporters at Madison Square Garden on Saturday evening. It was the same demeanor he projected two days earlier, even though the events preceding his sitdowns were drastically different.
After he played poorly in the Celtics’ calamitous Game 2 loss to the New York Knicks at TD Garden, Tatum acknowledged his struggles with even-keeled confidence. He proceeded to deliver a much more effective performance in Game 3, tallying 22 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals as Boston breezed past New York 115-93 to avoid an 0-3 deficit in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Throughout his career, Tatum has faced criticism for his perceived lack of a killer instinct — for being, in simple terms, too nice. Even his own father has publicly called for the six-time All-Star to be more of an “a–hole.” Tatum was the subject of fierce scrutiny on debate shows and talk radio after he shot 28.8% from the field and 5-for-20 from 3-point range in Games 1 and 2 against New York, both of which featured blown 20-point leads by the defending NBA champions.
Tatum, though, views his mental balance as a strength, as he explained in a candid response after Saturday’s sorely needed win.
“You just understand what comes with being that guy,” Tatum said. “I live a great life, I ain’t going to lie. I make a lot of money, I take care of my family, I’ve been able to experience a lot of things, but you also have to accept what comes with that, right? I get a lot of praise. I get a lot of credit. I get a lot of accolades. But I’m not perfect, and there’s times where I’ve needed to play better. I’ve needed to do more. And that comes with being that guy.
“So, just understanding that, and people just don’t criticize me. There’s a lot of people that came before me that they criticized, and there’s going to be people that come after me that they criticize. For me, it’s just a sense of joy that I play with. Coming into a game with an angry face and mad at the world, that’s not who I am. It’s not when I play my best. So I always say you’ve got to be the same person if things are going great and when things aren’t going great. You can’t switch up. That’s the character of a good man.”
Tatum went 5-for-9 on 3-point attempts in the win, headlining a significantly improved Celtics effort from beyond the arc (20-for-40).
“It was just a matter of time,” he said. “We’re all professionals, we work really hard on our craft, we put a lot of time in. You understand there’s times where your shot might not be falling, but it always balances out.”
The Celtics will look to even the best-of-seven series Monday night in Game 4.