On Thursday, the NBA world was shocked when Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was upgraded to questionable for the team's upcoming game against the Dallas Mavericks. Tatum has not played yet this season as he recovers from an Achilles injury suffered in last year's playoffs, and if he plays on Friday, it will be one of the quickest recoveries the league has ever seen.
Recently, NBA legend Carmelo Anthony adopted 7pm in Brooklyn Podcast to describe how he thinks Tatum should approach his return, now that Jaylen Brown has taken over as the team's leader this year.
"Now it's like JT, what are you going to sacrifice? But now I've held down the fort for you and the entire organization. JT has to be very mature about this situation. This is no ego, no pride. We got a chance to come back and win a championship. So I have to put my pride and ego aside for the next 3 months and let JB continue to steer the ship," Anthony said.
One person who doesn't agree with those comments is Tatum's trainer, Drew Hanlen.
"The irony of Carmelo Anthony trying to tell Jayson Tatum how to win..." Hanlen, formerly of the Ax, wrote on Twitter.
In fact, Tatum already has a far more accomplished postseason resume than Anthony has accomplished in his career, though he was certainly drafted under very different circumstances.
Ironically, Anthony's arrogance was seen as a negative trait throughout his career, as his tendency to dominate the ball in halfcourt settings was often at the expense of his teammates' shots.
Still, there will clearly be an adjustment period for the Celtics as Tatum takes the court, and it will be interesting to see how Brown's usage is affected by the return.
The Mavericks and Celtics are scheduled to tip off on Friday at 7:00 PM ET.
