Jayson Tatum loves Grant Williams, but not enough to set up his Celtics teammate for an alley-oop.
With Boston leading the Brooklyn Nets by 23 in the fourth quarter of its Thursday night win, Tatum and Williams found themselves on a two-on-one fast break when the latter called for a lob. The three-time NBA All-Star turned down the request and threw it down himself, leaving a disappointed Williams standing under the basket.
After the game, Tatum explained why he didn't fulfill Williams' desire.
"First of all, I love Grant to death, but he had a better chance of just calling for the ball," Tatum told reporters. "I think when he pointed up is when I made the executive decision of taking it myself. I don't know. If Grant has called an alley-oop, he's probably called two or three in his whole career. I just told him, 'On the fast break, there's two guys I'm gonna throw a lob to: Rob (Williams) and JB (Jaylen Brown).' Grant is a lot lower on that list. So, maybe we can practice it. In game, I did not feel comfortable throwing Grant Williams an alley-oop on a fast break. So, I just decided to take it myself."
We can't imagine Williams was too hung up on not receiving his moment to shine at Barclays Center. The third-year pro surely was thoroughly satisfied with the C's earning a convincing road win in their first game coming out of the All-Star break.
