The game of the season so far transpired before our eyes at the TD Garden. Reporters had fun creating narratives between Jayson Tatum and Steve Kerr’s first matchup following the Olympics snub in Paris. It surely didn’t disappoint. The plot thickens, and we can’t wait for January 20 when they meet again for Round 2 of Kerr vs. Tatum. But until next time, the Golden State Warriors took over the bragging rights with a 118-112 win over the Celtics.

Notably, Kerr got booed before the game started. It’s pretty obvious why he received those jeers. And, well, Jrue Holiday sure seemed to have enjoyed that if his interview the following day was anything to go by. “For the whole Jayson-Steve Kerr thing… the fans didn’t like it. They booed the hell out of bro. I like Steve, but that was amazing,” the Celtics star said on Run It Back. In fact, he even addressed the fans sitting behind the Warriors bench, wearing Tatum’s Team USA jersey. “Hilarious.”

But as for Jayson Tatum and Steve Kerr’s relations, this rivalry is brewing up to be something. It’s not often we get coach-player rivalries, and Tatum and Kerr will be a blockbuster show. But on November 6, things went Kerr and the Warriors’ way despite a strong showing by Tatum. He scored 32 points with 50% FG shooting and converted 7-9 free throws. He did his part. But the Celtics missed Brown in the game.

The guard sat out for the match with a strained left hip flexor. Significantly, the bench points between the Celtics and the Warriors stood at 24 and 49. It surely played a part in the loss, having no assistance from the Celtics bench. As the night came to a close in TD Garden, though, the drama didn’t. After the game, the teams embraced each other with customary handshakes and exchanged pleasantries.

We saw Tatum speaking to Curry, who scored 27 points in the victory, showing respect for each other. But as soon as the camera tried to pick Kerr, Tatum headed to the locker room, as seen in the YouTube video by Beyond NBA. And that surely intensified tensions between the two. We are not constructing narratives to dramatize the story. No, we’re not. It is probably complicated to discern Jayson Tatum‘s feelings right now after the devastating loss. But when reporters got the chance to ask the 26-year-old about the so-called “revenge game” against the Team USA coach, Jayson Tatum had a clear answer.

He downplayed the drama in the post-game press conference. “[The Olympic snub] wasn’t on my mind,” Tatum said. “Just another Wednesday. Another game and another opportunity to come in and try to be the best player I can be. Another day to just try to get a win.” But, per Jayson, being “mean” isn’t his thing.

“People want me to be louder. People want me to be mean. One thing about Jayson is I’m always going to do what I want to do and approach things the way I feel is sincere to who I am as a person.” That said, the no-handshake between two NBA icons will offer some food for thought. As for Kerr, going into the game, he knew the reception he would get.

In the pre-game press conference, a reporter asked the Warriors head coach: “What’s the loudest you’ve been booed?” clearly hinting that TD Garden wouldn’t be holding back when Steve Kerr’s name was called. “I don’t think anybody actually cared enough about me to boo me,” he said, adding, “So we’ll see how it goes.” But he was confident it wouldn’t all be boos. “I’m sure a lot of Celtics fans would cheer me for being part of Team USA, winning a gold medal for the country. Three Celtics on the team who won a world championship and, two months later, won a gold medal.”

A few minutes later, as the announcer called out Steve Kerr’s name, TD Garden reverberated with boos as the lights went out, even though the Team USA head coach previously mentioned that he had no problems with Jayson Tatum.

Steve Kerr cleared the air on Jayson Tatum’s line-up call

Kerr called benching Tatum a “math problem” because he knew he wanted Curry, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid to start. As a result, Tatum accumulated only 71 minutes in Paris, the second-lowest in the team and a far cry from the 123 minutes he played in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“This isn’t just a snub. This is an embarrassment for that poor kid all over the [expletive] world. The Olympics have gotten that big. Everyone’s going to think that there’s something wrong this this kid,” Bob Cousy told the Boston Globe. You know something’s wrong when Cousy expresses his passionate feelings about the snub.

But most of us know a coach picks the right team, and Steve Kerr mentioned, “It’s not about anything Jayson is doing or not doing. It’s just about combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin [Durant] has filled in since he came back from his injury. It’s just a math problem more than anything.” Leaving the NBA champion off the bench, some people can’t digest the decision.

We can certainly expect some fireworks moving forward.