NBA Insider Fires Back At Jayson Tatum Critics After Celtics’ Win Vs. Thunder originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Celtics pulled out arguably their biggest win of the 2025-26 campaign, as they handed the Oklahoma City Thunder a 119-109 defeat on Wednesday night. While Jaylen Brown led the way for the C’s, Jayson Tatum also turned in another all-around performance.
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Tatum has been shaking off the rust after missing 10 months of action while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. While he’s made a big impact in several areas of the game for Boston, he has struggled to find his shot to this point. Some folks have begun to get concerned, but NBA insider Tim MacMahon of ESPN made it clear that there’s no reason to panic about Tatum right now.
“Stop sweating small sample-size shooting numbers from a dude fresh off a frickin’ 10-month Achilles rehab,” MacMahon bluntly said on “Get Up.” “They don’t need Jayson Tatum at his best, or close to it, in March. They need that guy in May … Don’t worry about what he looks like right now. He is ramping up. If he’s close to himself come playoff time, the Celtics are the clear favorites in the Eastern Conference.”
In his first nine games, Tatum is averaging 19.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Sure, his shooting splits could be better (39.1% from the field, 30.9% from three), but those figures will improve over time. Tatum has made an immediate impact as a rebounder, and teams are already sending a ton of attention his way on offense.
The gravity Tatum draws is opening things up for his teammates, so even if he isn’t hitting all of his shots, he’s still making the lives of every player he shares the court with easier. Boston will look to keep up the positive momentum when it squares off against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
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