Jayson Tatum's ECF MVP Snub and Celtics' NBA Postseason Run
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:05 >> As you look back on the postseason bracket, so far in the association,
00:09 what's one of the main storylines that you think has emerged?
00:12 >> Well, I think Jason Tatum losing out on conference finals MVP was pretty telling.
00:18 He became the first player to be the best player on his team and not win that award.
00:23 And it was something that I know I was really interested in and
00:28 invested in because so often winning a finals MVP can be correlated
00:33 with being the best player in the league.
00:36 And I think it's very apparent whether Tatum cashes that current minus money ticket or
00:41 not, that's not what he is, he's not in contention for it.
00:45 His questions are, will he be top five or not?
00:48 And I know those things will sound arbitrary to people, they aren't.
00:51 They factor into all of our conversations, they factor into the prices.
00:55 There is a reason why year in year out you will find LeBron's and Steph's and
00:59 Durant's and even Kawhi's teams right at the top of the odds board.
01:03 And why all of a sudden Milwaukee and Denver were given the respect that they
01:07 were, because they had finals MVPs leading the charge for their roster.
01:12 And Jason Tatum is favored to get that award, and ultimately if Boston wins,
01:18 I think he will.
01:19 But part of the reason some of those doubts come in is there are people having
01:23 debates as to whether Tatum is the best player on his own team or not, much less
01:28 the best player in this sport.
01:30 If we are taking a look at the Boston Celtics, the one thing we can say, let's
01:34 take out the teams that they played and just look how quickly they've dispatched
01:38 these teams in the first three rounds.
01:40 It's pretty impressive.
01:41 Five games, five games, and four games, as they have a long layoff here before we
01:45 actually get to the NBA finals.
01:46 But are we downgrading the Celtics for who they played and who was injured while
01:50 they played them, and is that fair to do here, Kevin?
01:53 >> You have to.
01:54 So it's kind of this Celtics fans specifically, more even than the people who
01:59 have been backing Boston, have continuously said, oh, you got to play who's in
02:03 front of you.
02:04 Yeah.
02:05 We have to evaluate you based on who's in front of you.
02:08 In nine of the 14 games Boston has played, the other team's best player was
02:13 injured.
02:14 That's not hyperbole.
02:15 That's fact.
02:17 This is a Celtics team that's one in six against the number in their last seven
02:21 games.
02:22 That's fact.
02:23 They have not met expectations.
02:26 So that's why it doesn't feel as good.
02:28 Now, Chris Stapps is going to likely be back for game one and be stunning if he
02:33 wasn't, which can help this team get to another level.
02:36 You're talking about a seven-foot floor space or averaging 20 a night that can
02:39 protect the rim.
02:41 But unless Anthony Edwards or Luka Doncic aren't healthy in the next round,
02:46 automatically Boston's toughest test awaits in the finals.
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