The Boston Celtics had their first game after the All-Star break on Thursday night and picked up where they left off, beating the brakes off of the shorthanded Nets in a 129-106 win to move to 10-1 in their last 11 games.
It was never a game that felt very much in doubt, as Boston jumped on Brooklyn early and maintained a comfortable double-digit lead for the entirety, meaning there was some opportunity to try some things out down the stretch if they wanted to. Early in the fourth quarter, holding a 23-point lead, the Celtics got a steal and Payton Pritchard launched the ball ahead to Jayson Tatum to start a fastbreak with Grant Williams running ahead of him with just one defender between them.
Williams called for the lob but Tatum looked him off, stepping around the defender for a dunk of his own to the dismay of his big man.
Grant wanted Tatum to throw the lob @jaytatum0 @Grant2Will 😂 pic.twitter.com/tYqucUesBi
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) February 25, 2022
It was a funny moment, with Williams offering an audible “WOW” as Tatum went for his own dunk instead of tossing the lob, and after the game Tatum gave an even funnier answer as to why he looked Williams off on the play, saying that while he “loves Grant to death” that in a game he just “doesn’t feel comfortable throwing Grant Williams an alley-oop.”
"I did not feel comfortable throwing Grant Williams an alley-oop on a fast break" – @jaytatum0 😂 pic.twitter.com/rkm8xvUpEE
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) February 25, 2022
It’s made even funnier by the fact that there really wasn’t any downside to throwing Williams the lob in this spot, given the Celtics were up 23 against a Nets team that very clearly had no chance at creating an offensive run to catch them, but Tatum still couldn’t bring himself to throw it up for his typically floorbound teammate. One day Grant will get his chance to shine on the break, but Tatum needs to see it in practice before he gives him that chance on a nationally televised game.
