Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics have failed to slow down for some time now. The franchise has won a whopping 7 of its last 10 games, and currently has the second-best record in the East, 44-18.
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Amidst all this, Jayson Tatum has been having an MVP-caliber year, apparently taking his failures in the 2022 NBA Finals personally. However, no matter how hard a player tries, it will always be invalidated by crooked officiating.
Or at least, that is what Jayson Tatum would have you believe about the Celtics’ most recent trip to Madison Square Garden. And apparently, the man believed in it so much, he was ready to get ejected for it, firing some highly meaty lines at the officials.
Let’s dive into it what happened.
Jayson Tatum fired a nastily sarcastic comment back at the official for his performance during the game
Officials have been notorious all year for blown or missed calls this season. But, if Tatum were to be asked, he’d probably say this was by far the worst case of it. And to be fair, he may have had a point.
With all that frustration, however, the man just couldn’t help but burst, causing this embarrassing sequence by the Celtics’ star man. Watch the YouTube clip below.
Further, it was later revealed what the man said. And it is likely that every player within the NBA was with him on this one.
Tatum said he told officials, that “This is best officiated game I’ve been a part of.” He was tossed for that sarcasm. #Celtics #Knicks
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) February 28, 2023
Admittedly, this incident is just a tad bit humorous, considering everything. That aside, however, just how bad was this situation? Was it truly as bad as Jayson Tatum made it out to be?
Was this game really that horribly officiated?
Despite playing 36 minutes, Jayson Tatum only had 1 free-throw attempt. That is despite the man averaging 8.5 free-throw attempts, in 37.4 minutes per game this season. So, this already seems a bit fishy. But it gets worse.
The Boston Celtics shot just 14 free throws as a team during this game. At first, you may think that maybe the officiating just let the game be a bit more physical. But, you then see that Jalen Brunson alone shot a whopping 12 free throws, despite averaging just 5.8 this season.
And to add to all that, the New York Knicks as a team shot a whopping 34 free throws as a team during this game. So yes. If you were wondering if this was really as horrible as Jayson Tatum expressed, the answer is a resounding yes.
