"Don't really wanna be out here": Jayson Tatum unimpressed with NBA In-Season Tournament's key aspect
The Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls last Tuesday in their NBA In-Season Tournament matchup. However, Celtics star Jayson Tatum wasn't impressed by how they won the game. Sometime in the fourth quarter, Boston had a commanding 32-point lead, which was a sign that they had won the game. But Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla had other ideas for maintaining their lead.
During their matchup against the Bulls, the Celtics repeatedly intentionally fouled Chicago's center Andre Drummond to send him to the free-throw line. This strategy was to keep the Bulls from making a probable comeback. Drummond is currently one of the worst free-throw shooters, only making 59.1% of his shots from the charity stripe this season.
Tatum recently expressed disgust during a segment in Andre Iguodala's podcast "Point Forward". Tatum wasn't a fan of how he was still on the floor in the fourth quarter despite having a 30-point lead. "JT" revealed that he told his teammate that it didn't make sense to him that he was still playing considering how he'd typically be benched whenever the Celtics would have a commanding lead:
"We was in the game, I think I tapped Torry Craig," Tatum said. "I was like 'Yo bro like, I don't really wanna be out here right now.' Coz we was up 30 going into the fourth. If it was a Wednesday, I would have been sitting on the bench. The younger guys would've gotten in. It just didn't feel right."
Jayson Tatum unhappy with intentionally fouling Andre Drummond as Celtics advance
Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics overwhelmingly beat the Chicago Bulls in their NBA In-Season Tournament matchup last Tuesday. But at what cost? During Tuesday's 124-97 victory against the Bulls, the Celtics frequently committed intentional fouls on Andre Drummond in the fourth quarter of the game. This strategy aimed to maintain a substantial point differential, a crucial factor for their advancement to the quarter-finals of the In-Season Tournament.
The strategy proved successful as Boston emerged victorious in a tiebreaker scenario involving the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic. As a result, they secured the third seed in the Eastern Conference and were set to play against the second-seeded Indiana Pacers.
However, Chicago's head coach Billy Donovan expressed dissatisfaction with the repeated tactic of intentionally fouling Andre Drummond. Following the game, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla extended apologies to both Donovan and Drummond for the approach utilized during the game.