Joe Mazzulla was a happy man when his team, the Boston Celtic,s went two games unbeaten after defeating the the Portland Trail Blazers. But it nearly turned sour when he was asked a question by a member of the press.
The Boston Celtics had extended their winning run to two games with a brilliant performance yesterday against the Portland Trail Blazers, winning 121-99. However, Coach Mazulla wasn’t pleased when the reporter began to talk about the form of star player, Jayson Tatum.
Mazzulla who wasn’t pleased at all, cut the reporter short before explaining what he felt was a double standard. He also added that he doesn’t think his star player is playing poorly.
People are so used to seeing him [Tatum] dominate in a different way, but we have a different team this year with different expectations. The most valuable thing that a guy like him can do is do what the game needs and do what the team needs. Coach Mazzulla
However, the reporter wasn’t wrong as Tatum’s shooting of 9/23 from the field and 2/8 from the three-point mark during the game against the Trail Blazers, marked the fourth straight game in which his shooting accuracy has been below 40%. But he has still been a regular standout player for the Celtics who are currently top of the Eastern Conference standings.
Despite criticism, Tatum scores 26 in Celtics’ dominant win
Jayson Tatum has to be the most criticized player in the league this season but that hasn’t stopped him as he helped the C’s steamroll past the Trail Blazers. He scored 26 points, had five rebounds, and created eight assists.
The Celtics displayed their strength in depth as they had two other players score 20+ points during the game. Jaylen Brown who had 27 points, six rebounds, and five assists as well as Sam Hauser with 22 points and two rebounds.
This season Tatum is averaging 23.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 3.5 APG, which has led to the C’s becoming the first team in the league this season to notch 50 wins under their belt. Next is an away game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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