Joe Mazzulla Believes Celtics’ Jayson Tatum Gets ‘Taken Advantage Of’

Jayson Tatum took every ounce of criticism for his start to the second-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Boston Celtics star finally turned it on with a breakout performance in a 106-93 win on Saturday night.

Tatum roared back to heavily impact the game with 33 points and 13 rebounds. He led from the front with a double-double and consistently made the right play for the Celtics. Tatum played like a scorer on Saturday night, though Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla believes his abilities should be valued even when that’s not the case.

“It just says that he’s a really great player that gets taken advantage of because he’s been really good for a long time,” Mazzulla told reporters in Cleveland, per NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “(He’s) underappreciated. I thought he played a great game on both ends of the floor.”

The Celtics star still could be more efficient after going 11-of-25 from the floor on Saturday, though Mazzulla felt comfortable in his decision-making as a shooter in the Game 3 victory.

“I thought he did a good job taking the right shot,” Mazzulla added. “It doesn’t matter what the numbers are. He just needs to work to take the right shot. He did a great job of that tonight.”

Tatum’s rise back to form will be key for the Celtics moving forward, starting with another significant opportunity in Cleveland on Monday night for Game 4.