Stephen A Smith Rips Ongoing Criticism of Celtics' Jayson Tatum

En route to a hopeful second straight championship, the 61-21 Boston Celtics wasted little time in dispatching the offensively-challenged Orlando Magic (41-41) in the first round of this spring's playoffs.

But the Celtics haven't emerged from that first test unscathed.

Six-time All-Defensive Team guard Jrue Holiday missed the final three bouts of the series with a hamstring strain.

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Six-time All-Star Jayson Tatum sat out Game 2 after hurting his wrist. Four-time All-Stars Jaylen Brown has been plagued by a knee impingement that's been bugging him for several months, although he missed no games.

Next up for Boston will be a likely greater challenge, against the winner of the ongoing matchup between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons.

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One thing is for sure. Tatum has looked more confident as a scorer ball than he did in the past playoffs. The 6-foot-8 former Duke Blue Devil posted what would be career-best playoff averages of 31.3 points on .447/.364/.902 shooting splits, 11.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals a night in the Orlando series. Tatum also chipped in 5.3 dimes and 0.5 blocks through the 4-1 series victory.

During a recent appearance on ESPN, commentator Stephen A. Smith has shredded pundits' critiques of the Boston superstar.

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"Jayson Tatum deserves so much more love than he [has] received," Smith opined. "This brother's special, there's no doubt about. But Steve Kerr didn't help Jayson Tatum, I'll tell you that much. But that's a different subject for another day."

Kerr, the head coach of the gold medalist U.S. men's basketball team during the 2024 Paris Olympics, frequently limited Tatum's minutes, occasionally sitting him out of entire games.

Still just 27, Tatum guided Boston to two NBA Finals across three seasons (along with Brown and Derrick White), claiming one title. They have an opportunity to make their third NBA Finals berth in the past four seasons this year.

Tatum, one of the league's elite two-way talents, seems likely to be named to his fourth straight All-NBA First Team this spring, and his fifth All-NBA team overall. He's already been named an Eastern Conference Finals MVP for his efforts in the 2022 East Finals. Although he is indisputably the Celtics' best player, his struggles on offense in the 2024 postseason opened the door for Brown to claim East Finals and NBA Finals MVP honors.

His story is very much still being written. But he is well on his way to a Hall of Fame career.

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