Vince Carter slams Jayson Tatum ahead of Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals - “He had half of their turnovers” 

The Boston Celtics forced a Game 5 with a win against the Miami Heat. The Celtics return home to attempt to extend the series on Thursday. Boston has been inconsistent and has looked like the inferior team throughout most of the series against Miami.

Former NBA star Vince Carter went on ESPN’s “Get Up” and was not confident in the Celtics ability to pull off the comeback. He called out Tatum despite his solid Game 4 performance.

Carter said:

“They are going to have to defend and take care of the basketball. Jayson Tatum played great but five turnovers? He had half of their turnovers. You can’t have that, particularly if you don’t play well at home”

Tatum is averaging 28.1 points per game during the playoffs. He has scored more than 30 points in three of the four games against the Heat.

Will Miami’s defense show up on the road?

The Celtics are averaging 12.1 turnovers as a team during the playoffs. The Miami defense has posed issues for the offensive flow of Boston and Carter thinks Miami’s defensive intensity will show up on the road in Game 5:

“The Miami defense has the capability to lock down and put a stranglehold on your offense”

Most say that the pressure is on the team that is trying to close out the series, in this case, Miami, but Carter said the Celtics have the pressure on them instead.

“You have to look at the Boston Celtics the other way around. You need to have your backs against the wall to bring out the best in you. And that is not a great feeling, especially in a closeout game”

Carter knows the Celtics have found their way out of these holes before, however he did not express a lot of confidence in Boston to win Game 5. Despite them winning Game 4, the Celtics still have a long way to go after falling into a 3-0 series deficit.

“They have a lot of experience and we have seen this for the past couple of years with the Boston Celtics but they have found ways to survive and advance and keep themselves alive”

The Celtics host the Miami Heat on Thursday in Boston for Game 5. The game tips off at 8:30pm ET and airs on TNT.