The uncomfortable but necessary conversation about Jayson Tatum, the Celtics and the Playoffs

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics are in familiar territory right now.

The Miami Heat smoked them in Game 2 of Boston’s first-round series, only for the Celtics to bounce back and smolder them in three consecutive games to win the series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Cleveland orchestrated a Game 2 sequel on Thursday night as the Cavs evened their best-of-seven series with a blowout win in Boston.

Conventional wisdom dictates the Celtics should win Game 3 in Cleveland and should win the series, overall.

But for the Celtics to have a no-show performance at home like they did in both Game 2 losses, falls somewhere on the spectrum between being eyebrow-raising or at the other extreme, alarming as something that could potentially prevent them from winning an NBA title this year.

When you look at the different factors that come into play, some stand out more than others.

From that select group, there is only one worth delving into - Jayson Tatum.

This is the uncomfortable but necessary conversation that needs to be had about Tatum, the Celtics, and how there’s more at stake now than just winning an NBA title.