Jayson Tatum has taken his fair share of criticism this season after an impressive Game 3 performance, and addressed his critics.
Tatum led Boston to a 106-93 win after scoring a team-high 33 points – his highest scoring game in the playoffs so far.
The Celtics forward also filled the stat sheet with a performance that included a team-high 13 rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block.
His message to his critics included the point that there is more to an NBA game than high points.
“If they’re right, and they’re taking emotion out of it — however they lean into it and they’re right, I respect it,” Tatum said of his critics. “I understand what the media has brought to our game: more eyes, more attention, and how everyone has benefited from that, so I’m not going to say I’m going to take it. [criticism] as disrespect.
“I don’t always agree with that [the critics] say. “Maybe I feel like they’re not looking at everything else that I’m doing, but that’s not my job to focus on or pay attention to,” Tatum added. “My job is to be the best player I can be for our team on any given night.”
The 26-year-old averaged just 21.7 points through the first seven games, but he doesn’t seem worried about it.
“I’d like to make every shot I take, and I know I can shoot better and I will, but at this point in the season, as long as we’re winning and trending the right way, I know I’m going to score,” Tatum said. “I’ve done that many, many times. I just try to influence the game in other ways and just dominate – dominate the game and not just be defined as a goalscorer.”
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