The Miami Heat shocked the Boston Celtics on Friday night, again beating that team 111-105 at TD Garden in Boston.
The Celtics are now down 0-2 in the series as it heads down to Miami for the next two games.
This is obviously not a position the Celtics wanted to be in and star Jayson Tatum acknowledged that when speaking to the press.
Calling the situation “tough” and “a challenge,” Tatum said he still believes his team can turn things around.
“We’re not dead or anything, we have a great opportunity. I still have the utmost confidence,” he confidently said.
When asked if he believes his team could win four out of five games in this series, Tatum smiled and quietly said, “Yeah.”
“We still have the utmost confidence”
Jayson Tatum says the Celtics are still confident they can come back, despite being down 2-0 against the Heat pic.twitter.com/hw088oLjfg
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 20, 2023
Tatum put up 34 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists during Game 2, leading his team in points and rebounds.
But it just wasn’t enough.
The Heat have done this to multiple teams throughout the playoffs: they are able to outsmart and outlast others, even on their home courts.
Even though Miami is the eighth seed, they are proving to be quite a force in the playoffs.
Over the last couple of weeks, the Celtics have made a series of missteps.
In this series and the one that came before, Boston made confounding defensive moves and faced plenty of missed opportunities at the basket.
This has some fans worried if they really do have what it takes to get back on track.
They aren’t going to win this series if they continue to play as they have been.
Heat fans are going to be rowdy and ready to cheer for their team in Games 3 and 4.
Will the Celtics be able to right their wrongs and claim pivotal wins on the road against a team that continues to surge?
NEXT:
Celtics Reveal Injury Report For Game 2