“It Was Throbbing”: Jayson Tatum Breaks Silence On Controversial Bam Adebayo Foul

Bam Adebayo was issued a Flagrant 1 for his controversial foul on Jayson Tatum in the second half of the game. Adebayo contested Tatum on a warm-up shot after the whistle. Unfortunately for both of them, the Heat star ended up in JT’s landing space and he rolled his ankle. Quite brutally, too.

That, of course, warranted a call, and after the review, they determined that Adebayo committed a Flagrant 1. Many Heat fans argued that reviewing an after-the-whistle call shouldn’t even be considered. But a player was badly hurt and there had to be repercussions. Thankfully, on a night when the Cs weren’t particularly well off on shooting, except Derrick White, Jayson Tatum was able to continue the game.

Talking to the press post-game, Tatum opened up about how he felt when he was on the ground following the ankle injury. “It’s just. I was mad. Just because it’s like the same ankle. But I’ve tweaked my ankle a thousand times playing this game. It was throbbing, but the adrenaline made it wear off.”

Tatum was obviously referring to Game 7 of last year’s Eastern Conference playoffs against the Miami Heat. The Heat had advanced to the NBA Finals to be defeated by the reigning champions Denver Nuggets. But not before they gave a hard blow to the Boston Celtics. Considering how the Cs are going on a championship-or-nothing mentality this year, there was no way Tatum was going to let this unnecessary contest get in his way.

The Celtics can wrap up the series on May 1 at TD Garden given that they are 3-1 right now. It would take quite a miracle for the Heat to come back from this to defeat Boston. But in a somewhat of a controversial take, an NBA on TNT analyst will have ‘Beantown’ coming after him.

Former Heat assistant coach doesn’t think Jayson Tatum-Bam Adebayo play was dirty

Stan Van Gundy might be more popular now as a color commentator or prior to that, the Pelicans’ head coach. But even before that, he had worked in different teams as an assistant coach, and Miami was one of them. Right now, though, the Boston fans are ready to throw eggs, tomatoes, and pretty much anything they can get their hands on. While the majority agree that Adebayo getting in the middle of Jayson Tatum’s practice shot was unnecessary, Gundy thought otherwise.

He believed that it shouldn’t necessarily be labeled dirty. But Stan also admitted that he was somewhat biased. “I am a bit biased here because I have not liked the Celtics’ approach this entire game.”

Add to this the fact that he practically went on a five-minute rant on live TV about how Tatum was to be blamed for the ankle injury. There is no doubt that he isn’t going to be welcome anywhere in Boston. Of course, he can always go incognito.