Jayson Tatum has copped his fair share of criticism this postseason and after an impressive Game 3 performance, he addressed his critics.
Tatum led from the front in Boston’s 106-93 win after recording a team high 33 points – his highest scoring game in the playoffs so far.
The Celtics forward also filled the rest of the stat sheet with a well-rounded performance that included a team-high 13 rebounds, six assists, a steal, and a block.
The message he had for his critics included the point that there is more to an NBA game than just high scores.
“When they are fair, and they take emotion out of it – whatever way they are leaning towards and they are fair, I respect it,” Tatum said of his critics. “I understand what the media has brought to our game: more eyes, more attention, and how everybody has benefitted from that, so I wouldn’t say I’d take [criticism] as disrespect.
“I don’t always agree with what [the critics] say. Maybe I feel like they’re not watching everything else that I’m doing, but that’s not my job to focus on that or give it any attention,” Tatum added. “My job is to be the best player I can be for our team on any given night.”
The 26-year-old has averaged just 21.7 points in the first seven games, but doesn’t seem concerned about it.
“I would love to make every shot I take, and I know I can shoot better and I will, but at this time in the season, as long as we win and are trending in the right direction, I know me scoring will come,” Tatum said. “I’ve done that plenty, plenty of times. I just try to impact the game in other ways and just dominate — dominate the game and not just be defined as just a scorer.”
READ MORE: JJ Redick Teases LeBron James for Complaining About Refs’ Treatment of Lakers