As Expected, The Media Is Already Declaring Jayson Tatum "Isn't That Guy" And Is Solely Responsible For Jaylen Brown Getting Traded

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By now, it's certainly no secret that with all eyes on him, Jayson Tatum had one of the worst overall performances of his career to kick off the Celts season. Sure, the passing was nice and he took care of the ball, but outside of that? It was as dogshit as we've ever seen him play. It's OK to admit that. If you're looking for reasons as to why the Celts collapsed the way they did, the play of Jayson Tatum is the first bullet on the list. He has to be better, and he will be better. 

Coming off that performance, we knew what was going to happen next. It was like blood in the water for the very same media that has been weird about Jayson Tatum for years. So when they had their first opportunity to strike, they've pounced.

It began with Vince Carter. You know, cousin of Tracy McGrady, who is an avid Jaylen Brown guy. You'll remember it was TMac that was causing all the shit when Tatum came back last year. So what do we get yesterday? Vince Carter doing his cousin a solid and starting a whole "are we sure Jayson Tatum is the guy" routine

I'm sorry, can Jayson Tatum deliver as "that guy"

Giphy Images.

See here's the thing with the Jayson Tatum discourse. I'd say around 99.9% of it requires you to just pretend like his entire career hasn't existed. For their careers, the Celtics are 73-29 when Tatum has played and Jaylen hasn't. He's shown up time and time and time again in high leverage playoff situations as "The Guy". So this idea that we don't know if Jayson Tatum can be that caliber of player just because Jaylen Brown is no longer on the team makes no goddamn sense. I promise you, we don't have to do this whole routine where one stinker is a referendum on a player's entire career or ability. I'd just ask Vince Carter, is Wemby good enough to be "The Guy" after his stinker at home? How about Jalen Brunson who was just as awful in his home debut on ring night. Good enough to be "The Guy"? You don't hear any of that now do you! But with Tatum, you do. Classic.

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Then of course, was Stephen A. You knew this was coming and you knew it was going to be some absolute bullshit

Where do I even begin. For starters, how many more times does the Jaylen Trade have to be explained to people? Brad was trading him. Period. This idea that Jayson Tatum got Jaylen Brown traded or could have prevented the trade from happening is not based in reality. That is not how the Boston Celtics operate. The players play, the coaches coach, and Brad Stevens makes the roster decisions. Even if Jayson Tatum went into his office and demanded Jaylen not be traded…..he was getting traded for all the reasons Brad himself told us. The pending extension, the style of play, the reality of the CBA, all of it. How do we know this? Brad was trying to flip him at the deadline! His mind was made up. Period. 

So to put that on Tatum like it's his responsibility is laughable.

Then we get to the part where he apparently came back too early. I'm sorry, is Stephen A a doctor? Tatum actually looked better in his initial return than he did last night, so now not even a full offseason is enough time? We're over a year out from the injury, so when exactly is the right time for someone to come back if they pass all the checkmarks and look pretty damn good to end last season? He played like ass last night, that's it. He'll probably be really good on Friday, so then will that mean that he didn't come back too soon? I can't keep up.

Let's also remember, the Celts started 0-3 last year. I don't exactly remember this same discourse around Jaylen when those losses happened, including a close loss to the Pistons on the road!

The funny thing is, we literally JUST lived through this with Drake Maye. Remember how he was being talked about after his stinker in the opener against a tough defense? The takes, boy were they blazing. He was a fraud, he's actually not that guy, he only was good because of his schedule etc. A few weeks later, and look how stupid all that shit looks. The attempt to completely discredit who he was as a player all because of a stinker or two was pathetic when it happened with Maye, and it's just as pathetic with Tatum. 

I promise you, it's possible to criticize someone for their shitty play without one game being the end all be all when it comes to who they are as a player. But we've been through this before. We know how the media narratives work, what goes viral on the internet, all that shit. 

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I'll just say, it's only been 1 game and this shit is already exhausting. But this is the reality that Tatum operates in. When he has a stinker, this is what happens. When other stars like Wemby/Brunson have similar stinkers, it's crickets. It may not be fair, but life isn't fair. It's why my advice would be to probably refrain from playing like whatever the hell we watched in the opener. Because if he doesn't, then this noise is only going to get louder and more annoying.