{"id":104622,"date":"2024-11-02T12:14:40","date_gmt":"2024-11-02T16:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=104622"},"modified":"2024-11-02T12:14:40","modified_gmt":"2024-11-02T16:14:40","slug":"celtics-star-makes-bold-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/02\/celtics-star-makes-bold-statement\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtics Star Makes Bold Statement About Ex-Teammate After Controversial Play"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Late in the fourth quarter of Friday night&#8217;s game between the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/21\/5-crucial-questions-for-the-celtics-this-season\/\" target=\"_self\">Boston Celtics<\/a> and Charlotte Hornets, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willigr01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-02_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grant Williams<\/a> was ejected after charging into former teammate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tatumja01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-02_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jayson Tatum<\/a>. Williams spent his first four seasons with the Celtics before landing with the Mavericks via sign-and-trade in 2023. He was later dealt to the Hornets as part of the <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/washipj01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">P.J. Washington<\/a> trade. Williams has always been known for his physical play and frequent altercations with the opposing team. This play coming against his former team makes it more meaningful. Running up to Tatum and shoulder-checking him felt like a cheap shot.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Grant Williams was ejected after this flagrant 2 foul on Jayson Tatum \ud83d\ude33 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YbhC1psP7r\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/YbhC1psP7r<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BleacherReport\/status\/1852527710532174069?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Celtics Star Jaylen Brown Makes Bold Statement About Ex-Teammate Grant Williams After Controversial Play on Jayson Tatum<\/h2>\n<h3>Brown&#8217;s Comments<\/h3>\n<p>After the game, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brownja02.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-02_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jaylen Brown<\/a> spoke about Grant&#8217;s ejection. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/24\/top-25-nba-players-2024-25-no-13-jaylen-brown\/\" target=\"_self\">Brown<\/a> said that he thought Tatum and Grant were friends. He also said the following in regard to Grant&#8217;s intentions.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;He hit him like it was a football play. Like Ray Lewis coming across the middle or something. It is what it is Grant knows better than that.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Brown is well-known for having strong leadership abilities and speaking his mind, his post-game comments highlight these traits. His comments were straightforward yet powerful. Additionally, Brown made it clear he was upset without attacking Grant&#8217;s character his comments show that he has his teammates&#8217; back and handles these issues in a mature way.\u00a0Notably, after the play, Brown immediately rushed to Tatum&#8217;s defense and said something to Williams. Brown&#8217;s incredible leadership and mentality have been central to the Celtics&#8217; success.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Jaylen Brown was pretty resounding in his postgame:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I thought JT and Grant were friends. I guess not.&#8221; <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LXRC2R7f9E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/LXRC2R7f9E<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Noa Dalzell \ud83c\udfc0 (@NoaDalzell) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NoaDalzell\/status\/1852539603208577462?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Jaylen Brown said \u201cactions speak louder than words\u201d multiple times when it came to Grant Williams<\/p>\n<p>\u201cY\u2019all see the same play? He hit him like that was a football play.\u201d <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WF5x2R8fA7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/WF5x2R8fA7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Noa Dalzell \ud83c\udfc0 (@NoaDalzell) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NoaDalzell\/status\/1852535870324138130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On the court, Brown and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/25\/jayson-tatum-joins-historic-company-with-season-start\/\" target=\"_self\">Tatum<\/a> were both crucial to the Celtics 124-109 victory. Tatum poured in 32 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists. Brown notched 25 points, six rebounds, and five assists. The Jays have been catalysts of Boston&#8217;s recent success, including winning the 2024 NBA title. This season, both stars are averaging 25-plus points and have led the Celtics to a 5-1 start.<\/p>\n<h3>Grant Williams and Mazzulla&#8217;s Comments<\/h3>\n<p>After the game, Williams shared his perspective on the play.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Like I definitely made contact with his body before I reached. Probably a hard foul definitely not trying to hurt him by any means. We all know that&#8217;s one of my closest friends in the league. And as you can see he got up and just walked away, and then I got up, raised my hand like I thought it was foul. JB kind of escalated it but I understand he was trying to protect his teammate and stuff like that.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Williams&#8217; comments are somewhat puzzling, considering the charge and run-up from the other side of the court. This play, to Brown&#8217;s point, wasn&#8217;t a basketball play and had a clear injury risk. Williams doing this to someone he considers a close friend is even more questionable. While it certainly appeared to be an intentionally dirty play, it&#8217;s possible this was just a serious lapse in judgment from Grant. He has always been an emotional player; his <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nqisgIW_xPU\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">altercation<\/a> with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/butleji01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-02_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jimmy Butler<\/a> in the 2023 conference finals is the most famous of this, Williams also ranked within the top 10 for <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nba\/stats?category=misc&amp;sort=tech&amp;season=2023&amp;seasonType=reg&amp;sortOrder=desc\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">technical fouls<\/a> last season. Regardless, Williams&#8217; play certainly warranted an ejection.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I talked to <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GrantWilliams?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#GrantWilliams<\/a> after the game.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what he had to say about the flagrant foul on Jayson Tatum\u2026 <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBCSCeltics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@NBCSCeltics<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Celtics?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Celtics<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Hornets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Hornets<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/umfI2OSLGQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/umfI2OSLGQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kayla Burton (@Kay_Breezy22) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kay_Breezy22\/status\/1852539685878305017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Joe Mazzulla liked how both his stars handled the play. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/05\/top-25-nba-players-2024-25-no-6-jayson-tatum\/\" target=\"_self\">Tatum<\/a> immediately moved on to the next play while Brown rushed to his defense. Mazzulla acknowledged that everyone has their own way of handling plays like this, but the only thing that matters is that everyone has each other&#8217;s back. This is a great point: you want your players to defend each other but not truly escalate the issue. Tatum moving on to the next play while Brown made it clear that play was unacceptable without making the situation worse was the best thing each player could have done.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Mazzulla on the physicality toward the end of tonight\u2019s game:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI loved it. It was great. I thought it was tremendous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also loved the way JT handled the hard foul by Grant:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDidn\u2019t lay around, didn\u2019t let him faze him. Got right up, went to the FT line, and did his business.\u201d <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/q3nyY4UPXL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/q3nyY4UPXL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/taylorcsnow\/status\/1852530481755050292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Joe Mazzulla liked how Jaylen Brown stood up for Jayson Tatum:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone\u2019s got their own way of handling it, as long as we have each other\u2019s back.\u201d <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YyEDHHqKeV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/YyEDHHqKeV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Noa Dalzell \ud83c\udfc0 (@NoaDalzell) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NoaDalzell\/status\/1852530606673932753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, how both stars handled this altercation is a testament to their maturity and championship mentality. Ironically, this play happened after <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/29\/celtics-coach-joe-mazzulla-calls-on-nba-to-adopt-fighting\/\" target=\"_self\">Mazzulla<\/a> proposed that the NBA should allow fighting. Grant&#8217;s controversial play could further unite the Celtics, and it will certainly give them a little extra motivation as they are set to take on the Hornets in a rematch.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Late in the fourth quarter of Friday night&#8217;s game between the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets, Grant Williams was ejected after charging into former teammate Jayson Tatum. Williams spent his first four seasons with the Celtics before landing with the Mavericks via sign-and-trade in 2023. He was later dealt to the Hornets as part of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4779,"featured_media":104623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,5],"tags":[1491,450,798,4765],"class_list":["post-104622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-celtics","tag-grant-williams","tag-jaylen-brown","tag-jayson-tatum","tag-joe-mazulla"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4779"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}