“This Kid Does Not Have That Reputation”: Charles Barkley Dishes Out Accusations After Jayson Tatum Collision Sparks Debate

Jayson Tatum took a scary fall in game 1 of the Miami Heat vs the Boston Celtics and hell broke loose. Caleb Martin’s collision with Tatum triggered fans to throw shade at the Heat forward, but Charles Barkley has a different perspective on this. The Sixers legend decided to side with Martin on this debate, and co-host Kenny Smith pinned the blame on a 33-year-old Celtics guard, who he believes to be the main reason behind this collision. 

Barkley shared on Inside the NBA, “It’s an overreaction…But I’ll say this. Shaq and Kenny know this, most players who are dirty Ernie, they have a reputation because they’ve been doing it consistently. And this kid [Caleb Martin] does not have that reputation. I always tell people. You get a reputation being a dirty player because of your history, your track record.”

So Barkley is firm that Martin did not do this intentionally. However, the blame game was not over yet, because Kenny Smith called out Celtics guard Jrue Holiday for this dirty play. Caleb Martin was pushed by Holiday, and the former lost control and ultimately collided with Jayson Tatum. Smith said on live television, “I thought they were gonna argue about Jrue Holiday being dirty. He’s the one who did that thing. He pushed him directly into him.“

The TNT crew addressed the above play in full detail, and this has clarified a lot of things that were misinterpreted on the internet. 

How did Inside the NBA clear the air around Caleb Martin’s collision with Jayson Tatum?

Caleb Martin received a lot of criticism for his unintentional physical contact over the last two days. Some even doubted that this play was planned by the Miami Heat. For ex. former Celtics veteran Brian Scalabrine accused the Heat, “Eric Spoelstra calls a timeout with 1:30 left, down by 16. Thirty seconds later that play happens.” This gave a bad look to the collision. However, after the discussion on Inside the NBA today, fans can now understand that the above play was not intentional. 

Like Barkley and Shaq, American sportswriter Bill Simmons shared on his podcast, “I thought he got shoved from behind by Jrue Holiday, which everyone missed. I watched the replay; I think he was a little off balance and crashed into him.”, to side with Caleb Martin. Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra also addressed the controversy, “I don’t even think it’s worth addressing…It was an irrational assessment on our view of what actually happened.” At least now, Caleb Martin can escape the wrath of social media for involving in a play like this.