The New York Knicks displayed amazing character to overcome a 20-point deficit against the reigning champions, the Boston Celtics. However, for the Shamrocks faithful, this was a game they lost because of their own errors. The Celtics shot 60 threes in the game, missing 45 of those attempts. That accounts for the most misses in NBA playoff history. But while their shooting strategy was the major reason for their downfall, the onus also falls onto their cornerstone, Jayson Tatum.

In the eyes of Jay Williams, this is a critical season for the already enshrined Celtics forward. Tatum’s been battling criticism since his uneventful Paris Olympics. Having gone through that tough time, Williams is looking forward to seeing a determined version of Tatum. But his display tonight let him down.

“Accountability is hard and Jayson Tatum is this team’s best player and it’s his team. When it comes to the half-court decision-making, that is his responsibility. He is an elite passer in that capacity. And I think what we saw last night, especially in the fourth quarter, was extremely poor shot selection, not just from their whole team, but especially from Jayson Tatum,” the former NBA player noted.

The Celtics themselves ran an offense centered around just shooting the three. However, as the keystone, keeping the scoreboard ticking does fall upon Tatum. Instead, he fell into the trend of shooting. As a result, he shot just 4-15 from beyond the arc, playing a part in making the Celtics’ offense stagnant. Tatum contributed only 10 points in the second half and overtime because of the heavy reliance on shooting.

And not just Williams, as even former Celtics Kendrick Perkins felt Jayson Tatum let the team down. With three-pointers not working in their favor, he expected the 27-year-old to apply pressure on the officials. Given how skilled the dynamic forward is with his finishing, Perk wanted him to ask questions of the referees.

“I look at Jayson Tatum and I say to myself, at what point as a guy that’s striving to be great, right? Already in the Celtics record book for certain, you know, stats and numbers, you know, uh, the leader of this team that you’re going to put some pressure not only on the defense, but on the officials. I played with Paul Pierce, one of the most underrated players that doesn’t get talked talked, praised enough, right? Paul, when his shot wasn’t falling, he would get to the basket. He would get to the free-throw line,” Perkins said about Tatum’s performance.

Although Jayson Tatum struggled tonight, his postseason has been an immense success. He’s coming off three consecutive 30+ point performances against Orlando. So far, he’s been the pivotal reason behind the Celtics’ postseason success. That’s why Perk sees a bigger issue in the Celtics’ game plan.

Perkins fears the Celtics are digging their own grave

Jayson Tatum did play a role that led to the Celtics’ downfall. But it wasn’t him alone. The entire team fell apart in the second half. Joe Mazzulla said losing Kristaps Porzingis due to an illness led to a change in their original plans. But even without the stretch center, the Celtics seemed reluctant to fall away from shooting despite their evident struggles.

The Knicks took advantage of that fact. Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby led the way in their fightback with an incredible second-half performance. They combined for 40 points. And unlike the Celtics, the tandem couldn’t miss from three even if they wanted to.

However, the major talking point was the Celtics allowing the Big Apple to snatch the game from under their noses. And Perkins feels if they continue with such three-point-heavy offense, an upset might be in the works for the defending champions.

“Listen, if the Celtics are going to continue to hang their hats on shooting three-point shots through this series without attacking the paint and especially with Tom Thibodeau having a big switch on the pick and rolls, they’re going to lose this series. I’m telling you straight up, they’re going to lose this series,” he said.

It was a complete lapse from the Shamrocks in the second half. But even then, Mazzulla didn’t see many faults in their plans. Rather, he thought their shot-making was where they lacked.

“To me, I look at the process, the shot quality, and the shot quality was high. We shot one more layup than they did. … You have to look at the process — at what we’re trying to accomplish — and there’s probably 8-10 shots we can be better at, for sure,” he said about the Celtics’ poor shooting.

The Celtics did miss a lot of open looks, which with their quality of shooters was an anomaly. A few makes and the game may have swayed in their direction. But regardless of the clean looks, if it’s clear that shots aren’t falling, a change is necessary, especially with home advantage on the line.

It’s up to the Celtics to realize where things went wrong. And by the time Game 2 rolls out, the Shamrocks will likely have made the necessary changes.