The Boston Celtics have been steamrolling their opponents throughout the 2023-24 NBA regular season. Based on several metrics, they are having one of the best campaigns in league history, but that has unraveled a bit this week.
It started on Tuesday night when the Celtics faced off with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland was playing without NBA All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who is dealing with a knee injury. Evan Mobley was also hurt in the game, twisting his ankle.
At one point, Boston held a 22-point lead and had a 99.9 percent chance of winning the game. Those odds evidently meant nothing to Dean Wade, who turned into Kobe Bryant in the fourth quarter, helping the Cavaliers to an unexpected come-from-behind victory.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Jayson Tatum, Brian Windhorst, Boston Celtics Updates
In the waning moments of that game, it was Celtics star Jayson Tatum who came up small. He was unable to knock down a shot at the end with the game on the line. Against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, it was more of the same.
Tatum had a chance to help the Celtics make a statement against the reigning NBA Champions on their floor. Down by two with 45 seconds left, he was open in the corner for a go-ahead 3-pointer and came up short, leading to the Nuggets extending their lead to four on their next possession.
There was a contingent of people who believed that Tatum should be in the running for the MVP award this season. However, NBA insider Brian Windhorst believes his hopes have been dashed with his performance in the last two games.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Jayson Tatum, Brian Windhorst, Boston Celtics Updates
“Jayson Tatum’s MVP case is over. It is not happening. This has been a brutal, brutal three days,” Windhorst said.
These last two games are certainly a blemish on Tatum’s resume for the MVP award. He shot 13-of-34 combined in the two games and had a negative plus/minus ratio in both contests. Given how close each game was, a more efficient performance from Tatum could have helped turn both losses into victories.
Two games don’t tell the entire story of a full season, but it will be hard for Tatum to climb back from this one. He had a chance to improve his case against a two-time MVP in Nikola Jokic and the reigning NBA Champs, but he came up short. That, as Windhorst stated, is enough for people to take him out of the running.
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