1192 Miles Away, Ryan Helsley & Cardinals Turn Jayson Tatum For 1 Day to Bless Celtics Star’s NBA Finals Run

While the Celtics have won the first two games of the finals, their superstar Jayson Tatum has not had a particularly good performance so far. In both games, he failed to cross the twenty-point mark while shooting horribly from the floor. Some are even speculating that even if the Celtics win this series, Tatum might not bag the Finals MVP trophy. After protecting home court twice, the Celtics will now head into enemy territory tomorrow, hoping to win one on the road. And to motivate Tatum to ball out in Game 3, he got a little hometown support from MLB star Ryan Helsley and the Cardinals with a wholesome gesture.

Over 1192 miles away from Boston lies the hometown of Tatum in St. Louis, Missouri. So, to show support to the local kid playing in the finals, the entire team of the St. Louis Cardinals wore a Jayson Tatum jersey during warmups ahead of their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Overwhelmed by the gesture, JT even shared a picture of the players covered in green on his Instagram story. “Cardinals much love.” Tatum wrote.

Even the Cardinals’ social media page shared the pictures of their stars supporting JT, writing, “Repping the hometown kid, @jaytatum0! 🍀” And the mastermind behind this gesture turned out to be none other than superstar pitcher Ryan Helsley. With great interest in basketball and even the self-proclaimed “best hooper in the bullpen” Ryan was the one who surprised his teammates with Tatum’s jersey. “We’re a team within a team down there and I thought it would be cool if we rocked his jersey out there for a few days while they’re in the finals.” Helsley said. Hopefully, the support from his hometown team will help Tatum regain his rhythm and get back on track.

Jayson Tatum might miss out on Finals MVP

When you think about the best player on the Celtics roster, most people’s mind immediately goes to Jayson Tatum. With the most individual accolades than any of his teammates, JT is certainly the biggest superstar on the team. But that has not shown in his performance in these finals so far. Starting from the first game, Tatum scored only sixteen points on six of sixteen shooting. Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown led the team in scoring while a returning Kristaps Porzingis shot lights out to help the Celtics win.

And then, in the second game, JT was again limited to just eighteen points on an even less efficient shooting night than the first game. And this time, he was outscored by Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday. Even Mavs head coach Jason Kidd tried to take advantage of this situation and deemed Brown the best player on the Celtics roster, maybe to cause a rift in the opponents’ locker room. Yes, winning is more important than individual stats for both teams right now. But if this trend continues, Tatum might not win Finals MVP even if he wins his first ring. More importantly, he already missed out on the East Finals MVP to Jaylen Brown. And another missed trophy could hurt his legacy going forward.

Before you go, do not forget to check out what Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato has to say about Caitlin Clark’s meteoric rise to stardom. Keep checking this space for more such updates.