Sitting atop the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics could be forgiven for not paying much attention to what’s happening elsewhere in the NBA.
Yet, that doesn’t seem to be the case for Jayson Tatum, who took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the Portland Trail Blazers superstar guard, Damian Lillard, following his 71-point explosion versus the Houston Rockets.
“One of the greats,” Tatum tweeted in response to a clip of Lillard discussing his historic scoring night.
Tatum is no stranger to big scoring nights himself, having dropped 50 points on five separate occasions, with his most recent one coming on January 16, against the Charlotte Hornets. However, it’s clear that the St. Louis native was impressed with Lillard’s offensive showing, especially since he is one of just eight players to do so, with Wilt Chamberlain being the only player to achieve the feat on multiple occasions.
Jayson Tatum Recently Received Strong Criticism
If you ask most Celtics fans, they will tell you that Tatum has been having a stellar season for Boston and is worthy of his name being mentioned in the same breath as the 2023 MVP award.
Yet, not everyone sees things the same way. According to long-time Celtics beat writer Dan Shaughnessy, Tatum is becoming too focused on individual accolades and isn’t giving the opportunity of winning a championship the attention it deserves.
“He hasn’t won a championship and there are times when he seems too much the embodiment of today’s American-born, AAU-groomed, egomaniacal NBA superstar. He missed a game to go home to St. Louis for his son’s birthday party in December. Just before the All-Star break, he missed an important game in Milwaukee with a “non-COVID illness” (the Celtics subs lost in overtime), then came back to play the next night at home against the lowly Pistons,” Shaughnessy wrote.
Considering that Tatum has been playing with a non-displaced fracture in his wrist for the past 12 months, most fans will be inclined to disagree with Shaughnessy’s opinion on Tatum, especially given his All-NBA level of play for the Celtics this season.
Jayson Tatum Provides Update on Troublesome Wrist
When playing against the Indiana Pacers on February 23, Tatum took a hard fall, landing on his troublesome wrist in the process. When speaking to the media as part of his post-game press conference, the St. Louis native addressed concerns surrounding a potential injury.
“That was scary. They always teach you not to put your hand out, but it was so quick. You guys probably saw I jumped up so quick because I was, like, I was scared. And I was, just, moving my hand, because that’s the one that’s been bothering me for a year now, and falling right on it, I was really, just, really just like trying to see if I could open and close, if I had strength, and it was painful for 5-10 minutes, but got it looked at, and I mean, it’s sore, but I’ll be alright,” Tatum said.
Boston will now be hoping that their superstar forward can continue to heal while also playing at an elite level, as should Tatum need to miss time between now and the end of the season, it could drastically affect the Celtics chances of winning their first championship since 2008.
Celtics’ Jayson Tatum Issues Definitive 4-Word Message on Blazers’ Damian Lillard