We'll add the necessary caveat that Tatum has a stronger supporting cast than James, who dragged a mediocre group of role players - Drew Gooden, Daniel Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, to name a few - to the franchise's first-ever Finals berth.

James made his first Finals appearance in 2007 under similar circumstances: at 23 years old, in his fourth NBA season and facing a San Antonio Spurs team that had won two of the last four championships. LeBron James likely would agree with that sentiment. (He turned 24 in March.) As Green alluded to Sunday, it's pretty hard to thrive at a young age in your NBA Finals debut - especially against an experienced team like the Warriors, which have been to six of the last eight NBA Finals. Tatum is competing in his first NBA Finals in his age-23 season. Tomase: This C's legend proves Tatum still has time to dominate NBA Finals Tatum certainly deserves criticism: He's shooting 34.1 from the floor - dead last among Boston's eight main rotation players - and disappeared when the Celtics needed him most in the fourth quarter of Game 4 (three points on 1 of 5 shooting).īut before we start questioning Tatum's legacy or comparing him to the brick-laying Draymond Green, a little context is needed. Just ask Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, whose inconsistent play has become talk-show fodder after he needed 23 shots to score 23 points Friday night and committed six turnovers in a Game 4 loss to the Golden State Warriors at TD Garden. When you're a superstar competing in the NBA Finals, there's not much room for error.

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