The Boston Celtics find themselves in a 2-0 series deficit to the New York Knicks after blowing back-to-back 20-point leads on their home court. Their entire roster has had a tough series, particularly from three-point range -- where they are shooting just 25% as a team and have missed 75 shots over the first two games.
As the series prepares to shift to Madison Square Garden for Saturday's Game 3, a former Celtics NBA champion appeared on ESPN's "Get Up", where he called out Jayson Tatum for his lackluster performance.
"He's not stepping up, and look, playing with Paul Pierce in my Celtic days, the one thing I will acknowledge about Paul Pierce was that he took pride in protecting his crib," ESPN's Kendrick Perkins claimed Thursday. "He took pride in individual matchups and not losing games on his home floor. I'm not seeing that from Jayson Tatum right now and it's all about the dog. Being the dog, being able to get to the free-throw line. And I get it, he shot only five three-point shots last night... At some point, Jayson Tatum's got to say, 'I'm the best player on the floor, I can not be guarded.' He's one of the most elite scorers in the game today, and I just don't see that tenacity. I don't see that dog in him. This is, I thought, was going to be his moment after being disrespected all summer long -- that he was going to be ready to protect, not only his championship, but definitely protect his home court and his crib."
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Tatum has struggled tremendously over the first two games of the second round. The six-time All-Star has averaged 18.0 points, 15.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 28.6% from the field, 25.0% from three-point range and 77.8% from the free-throw line.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Celtics' roster has failed to step up. Boston became the first team in NBA history to blow consecutive 20-point leads in the postseason.
More NBA: Former Celtics NBA champion claims they are done following Game 2 loss