Jayson Tatum is having another great playoff campaign with the Boston Celtics this season.
Despite suffering a wrist injury in the first round series against the Orlando Magic, the young star showed up for the team in four out of the five games.
He averaged 31.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG and 5.3 APG, while shooting 44.7% from the field and 36.4% beyond the arc.
Jayson Tatum suffered the injury in the very first game of the series itself, he then sat out for just one game before making a recovery and helping the Boston Celtics gentlemen sweep the young Magic side.
Despite the physical brand of basketball the Magic were playing, Jayson Tatum managed to score heavily against them, which helped him earn a lot of praise especially from Hall of Famer Paul Pierce.
However, right after he praised him, Pierce’s former teammate was quick to disagree with him on his Tatum comment.
Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesGarnett and Pierce split opinions on Jayson Tatum
After dropping a stellar performance in the first round, Pierce stated Tatum was the ‘best player playing the best in the playoffs.’
However, Garnett came in with his opinion on Tatum and how the Celtics team helped him play elite basketball.
He said: “You got to take into account, let me keep this a buck, listen, he on a hellafire team, you can’t discount his counterparts and the people that he played with that make him better.
“These other people we talking about they got one All-Star on their team if that.
“This man is on probably the best starting five ever to start in the NBA, real s__. This Boston team that starting five with Holiday, White, com on bro, that’s got to come down for something, you got to take that into account.”
Jayson Tatum is proven playoff performer
At 27, Tatum probably has one of the best resumes in the NBA, which includes multiple trips to the Conference Finals, NBA Finals and even a championship, which he won last year.
He has averaged 25 points or more in six out of the eight times he has been in the playoffs, which is phenomenal.
Although he has a stacked team, Tatum has been one of the most consistent performers on the team.
However, Tatum has received a lot of hate, which even Dwyane Wade believes and does not understand.
Pierce countered Garnett’s comments, responding: “I’m not discounting it, but we can’t move the goalposts, when KD was with the Warriors, what was we saying about Steph?”
He alongside Jaylen Brown, has been key to the Celtics’ dominance amid multiple deep playoff runs.
His ability to have big scoring games in the playoffs added to the fact that he is a valuable defender, makes him a great player to have on the team, who is still not at his peak.
With the New York Knicks set to be the Celtics’ next matchup, they will face a tougher challenge as they are a side with the presence of Jalen Brunson, who impressed fans with another clutch showing against the Detroit Pistons to closeout the series.
The Knicks have the roster to battle against the Celtics and if they want to seal their place in a fourth consecutive Conference Finals, Tatum will have to continue with his exploits and lead the way from the front.