Jayson Tatum, Celtics get harsh clutch reality check from Austin Rivers

The Boston Celtics have been far and away the best team in the NBA this season, and they are the favorites to win the NBA championship. However, there are some concerns regarding the Celtics’ ability to win close games, and how that will impact them in the playoffs. Austin Rivers voiced those concerns in a discussion on ESPN regarding the gap between the Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference.

“They’ve won, and they’ve had the best regular season. But that’s the key word here is regular season,” Austin Rivers said on ESPN. “This team is very vulnerable in some ways. Closing the game is one. They don’t close the game the best. That guy right there, Jayson Tatum, one of my favorite players. But he has not been the best down the stretch, particularly in the clutch. Nor has Jaylen Brown. And we saw last year a team that was not even in the realm of what we’re talking roster, Miami Heat, go in and punk that team and beat them in a Game 7.”

The Celtics] don’t close the game the best… Jayson Tatum, [is] one of my favorite players, but he has not been the best down the stretch, particularly in the clutch, nor is Jaylen Brown.

It is not a lock that the Celtics come away as champions this season. The talent is there to pull it off, and the roster is arguably better than last year’s team that almost reverse-swept a best-of-seven series with the Heat before Jayson Tatum got hurt early in Game 7. However, Rivers’ concerns have been voiced before, even by some Celtics fans.