The NBA‘s inaugural In-Season Tournament has been met with excitement as a radical change to the Association‘s regular-season structure. It’s also been met with trepidation from some fans and players — not least of which because the colorful courts and uniforms used during In-Season Tournament games have been roundly criticized.
But one superstar player has taken aim at the tournament’s rules, specifically one of its tie-breaking procedures. Boston‘s Jayson Tatum has expressed frustration with point differential as a key tiebreaker for teams who are tied in the group stage standings — and the NBA may have to take his criticism into account for future competitions.
“The game was already over and guys were still trying to score”
Tatum on Sunday told reporters that he was frustrated not only by the result of Friday night’s game against the Orlando Magic — he was also frustrated that the Magic kept adding to their lead before wrapping up a 113-96 win.
“Last Friday, where the game was already over and the guys (were) still trying to score…it’s all about respecting the game and respecting your opponents,” Tatum said.
The NBA‘s top two tiebreakers for the In-Season Tournament are head-to-head record and point differential, with margin of victory taking on a new-found importance. The Magic‘s 17-point win took their overall point differential to plus-22, and Orlando‘s 3-1 record has it atop Group C. This means Boston — with a point differential of zero — must beat the Chicago Bulls by 23 points on Tuesday to finish first in the group, and the Celtics could quite possibly miss the knockout stage entirely if they don’t blow out the Bulls.
Is a Tatum hot streak right around the corner?
The good news for the Celtics is that Tatum, by his own admission, is feeling well again after battling a recent illness. Tatum said he “on the other side” of what sounded like a bad head cold — and a succession of dominant games could follow.
Even if the Celtics fall short in their chase for the NBA Cup, Boston still has the NBA‘s best record at 13-4 — a half-game better than the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference. Tatum — who is sporting averages of 28 points and nine rebounds per game — will hope to feast against Chicago before Friday’s showdown with bitter rivals Philadelphia.
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